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Class #4: The Act Requirement (Actus Reus)
We begin our study of the “general part” of the criminal law (act, mental state, causation, and concurrence) with the simplest of the four topics: the act. Actus reus doctrine can be reduced to two basic questions: (1) What is an act?, and (2) When can an omission count as an act? There are two related policy questions: (1) Why require an act at all (i.e., why not punish thought crimes)?, and (2) Why not punish omissions when an individual’s failure to act demonstrates moral depravity or dangerousness?
Before you start reading the cases, answer these statutory questions:
1. Statutory analysis: How does the Model Penal Code define an “act”?
2. Statutory analysis: How does the Model Penal Code define a “voluntary act”?
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