Latin]. The overt act involved in a crime; most crimes are defined by a guilty act, the actus reus, and a guilty state of mind.
criminal act (See " mens rea.")
An act which, in combination with a certain mental state, such as intent or recklessness, constitutes a crime.
Guilty act The offence of which the defendant is accused
The elements of an offence other than those parts of the offence which concern the mind( see mens rea)
The material element of the crime, which may be the commission of a forbidden action (for example, robbery) or the failure to perform a required action (for example, to stop and render aid to a motor vehicle accident victim).
(in the analysis and definition of criminal offences) the physical component of a particular crime, being the action itself, as opposed to the necessary accompanying state of mind (see mens rea) [L: guilty act, from the entrenched mistranslation of the maxim actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea as "no guilty act without a guilty mind", rather than ‘act does not make a man guilty unless his mind be guilty
From the Latin, guilty act, actus reus (physical) refers to the actual doing of the criminal act which must co-exist with mens rea (mental) which refers to the intent to commit the act.
(ACK tus REE us) Proof that a criminal act has occurred. See elements of a crime.
The act or omissions that comprise the physical elements of a crime as required by statute. See, e.g. Schad v. Arizona, 501 U.S. 624 (1991). (Wex)
The physical act involved in the commission of a crime or offence. Cf. mens rea.
The actus reus — sometimes called the external elements of a crime — is the Latin term for the "guilty act" which, when proved beyond a reasonable doubt in combination with the mens rea, i.e., the "guilty mind", produces criminal liability in common law-based criminal law jurisdictions such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, England, Scotland and the United States. In the United States, some crimes also require proof of an attendant circumstance.
