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Anatomy of a criminal case
The basic elements of a criminal offence
Actus reus: this term refers to the act of the crime itself. For example, one if the actus reus elements of the offence of murder under s. 299 of the Criminal Code would be for the Crown to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant caused someone’s death.
Mens rea: this term refers to the mental component of a crime.
Common examples of requisite mens rea elements that must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in various offences range from the more easily proven objective standards of the “reasonable person” such as criminal and penal negligence, where all that is needed to be proven is that the accused “ought to” have possessed that state of mind. These mens rea standards are usually what is required to prove due diligence offences such as provincial offences or other minor offences that don’t lead to serious jail time.
On the other hand, the subjective standards of mens rea are recklessness, wilful blindness, knowledge, and intent, which are usually harder to prove for the Crown since proving such a mental requirement would require evidence that the accused actually subjectively possessed those mental states while committing the offence.