Principles of criminal liability Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Principles of criminal liability - Term Paper ExampleThe rule that says that the prosecutor has to examine every element of the principles beyond reasonable doubt is called corpus delicti rule (Hall, 2011). When a offence is committed, it is tell to have some elements that directly show how and why the crime has been committed in a openhanded view. These elements may include the presence of a mental pronounce, a prohibited ventureion and a deficiency of legal justification. These elements should be proven by the prosecutor beyond reasonable doubt and in the cases where these elements ar not proven, the person who is charged of the crime should be charged not guilty. The principles ar mens rea, human actionus reus, concordance and causation. These principles are related to champion another in a significant way as if one doesnt satisfy, then it can change the whole scenario, and thus all should collectively check on the crime (Lanser andBloy, 2000). Mens rea Mens rea is the Latin word for guilty mind. This is an element which shows that every crime is convicted in a state of mind. It is the state of mind of the defendant when he is or has committed the prohibited act of crime. In the American Law Institutes Model Penal Code, the primary source used to define mens rea sets four-spot standards. These standards suggest that the guilty mind can be attributed to those individuals who commit crimes purposely, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently. There have been developed statutes that provide more to the definition of these elements and they specify which mental states apply to which particular crimes (Hall, 2005). When an individual knows that his act will cause an expected damaging result, it is purposely. When he commits an act being aware that his conduct will be highly risky of causing a negative result, he acts knowingly. When he knows that the act is going to be risky and still disregards the existence of the unfounded risks associated with the act, he is said to act recklessly. Lastly, if the individual has totally deviated themselves from the standard of care that he has towards a reasonable person, so he has committed the act negligently. In the criminal right, mens rea is considered as one of the most master(prenominal) and necessary elements that have to be present at the time of a crime. The leafy vegetable law system made the rule that the liability applies on the criminal on the grounds that the act will not make a person guilty of charge until and unless his mind is also guilty. Thus, it is important that there should be actus reus where mens rea is present to make sure that the defendant is charged of the crime he committed. So it can be held that the person who committed a crime without being at mental error is generally not criminally liable for that act (Hall, 2005). Mens rea is not required in civil law as a subjective element to prove liability, but if a tort or a contract is breached with wrong intentio n, that may be counted in the offence and it would increase the scope of the liability on the offender and the measure of damages may be increased that have to be paid to the plaintiff. Therefore, it is discernible that the existence of mens rea allows the accomp anying principle of the actus reus as well and is closely related to each other. Without the presence of any one, liability will not be imposed (Hall, 2011). The principle issues on which mens rea is applied hold galore(postnominal) stages of development. Some issues are said to be