Jurisdiction & Actus Reus

Question 1

Jurisdiction

Answer 1

General - starting point for a crime requires jurisdiction and actus reus

Authority - US has power to criminalize and prosecute crimes that occur anywhere in US territories, on ships and planes, and by US national abroad

States - states can only punish crimes having some connection to the state, for example

• whole crime or part of the crime occured inside the state
• conduct outside the state that involved an attepmt to commit a crime inside the state
• a conspiracy to commit the crime and an overt act occured within the state

Question 2

Actus Reus

Answer 2

Thought Crime - no such thing exists, must have an action

Considerations to determine if there was actus reus

1. must be some act in the world that can also be speech
2. act must be voluntary

• involuntary act does not satisfy the actus reus;
• can force another to perform actus reus on his behalf (e.g., TIE HER UP!)

3. act can be an omission - a failure to act

• failure to comply with a statutory duty (e.g., failure to file tax return);
• failure to act when there is a special relationship between the D the victim (e.g., parent failure to obtain medical attention),
• voluntary assumed duty and cast it aside (e.g., repetent rescurer)
• D causes a peril and then fails to prevent victim from being injured to peril (D must be aware he created danger)