2. Objective elements of an offense
Conduct elements
Attendant circumstance elements
Result elements
Actus Reus
Conduct (Act)
Attendant circumstances
Causation
(if any)
Result
(if any)
Burglary ─ “Breaking and entering the dwelling house
of another at night with the intent to commit a felony
therein”
3. Martin v. State (Ala. 1944)
Drinking in
house
Appearing
in public
“Any person who, while intoxicated or drunk, appears in any
public place where one or more persons are present … and
manifests a drunken condition by boisterous or indecent
conduct, or loud and profane discourse, shall, upon
conviction, be fined”
#@%!*
4. What is an “act” or “voluntary act”?
“What is left over if I subtract the fact that my arm
goes up from the fact that I raise my arm?”
“Act” = “[B]odily movement whether voluntary or
involuntary” (MPC § 1.13(2))
“Voluntary” = “[M]eaning specified in Section 2.01”
(MPC § 1.13(3))
Therefore, voluntary act = Bodily movement that is
the result of conscious or habitual effort or
determination (MPC § 2.01(2))
Section 2.01. Requirement of a Voluntary Act;
Omission as Basis of Liability; Possession as an Act.
…
(2) The following are not voluntary acts within the
meaning of this Section:
(a) a reflex or convulsion;
(b) a bodily movement during unconsciousness or
sleep;
(c) conduct during hypnosis or resulting from hypnotic
suggestion;
(d) a bodily movement that otherwise is not a product
of the effort or determination of the actor, either
conscious or habitual
Wittgenstein
5. Questions
C is standing on a target range. C aims at the target
and pulls the trigger. At that moment, D steps in
front of the target. Has C acted voluntarily within the
meaning of the voluntary act requirement?
A threatens B with death unless B robs a store. B
robs the store. Has B acted voluntarily within the
meaning of the voluntary act requirement?
A = Yes
B = No
6. What’s excluded?
Consciously willed
Not Willed
Bodily movement
No bodily movement
Act
Mental act
Omission
Reflex
Convulsion
Status
Possession
Sleepwalking
Hypnosis
Automatism
Not consciously willed
7. t=0
drinking in house
(act)
t=0
driving car
(act)
t=1
appearance
in public
(no act)
t=1
deaths of children
(no act)
People v. Decina (N.Y. 1956)
It is a crime to appear in public while drunk
It is a crime to operate a vehicle in a reckless or
negligent manner thereby causing death
MPC 2.01(1) ─ A person is not guilty of a
criminal offense unless his liability is based on
conduct which includes a voluntary act …
8. State v. Utter (Wash. 1971)
The no-act “defense” based on unconsciousness
due to voluntary intoxication is forfeited
The no-act “defense” based on reflex (“conditioned
response”) does not get to the jury because the
defendant failed to meet his burden of production
9. Voluntary act and strict liability
Is D guilty of third-degree rape?
A = Yes
B = No
“A person is guilty of rape in the third degree when
the person has sexual intercourse with another who
is at least fourteen years old but less than sixteen
years old and not married to the perpetrator and the
perpetrator is at least forty-eight months older than
the victim”
Problem