Mens Rea / Actus Reus Worksheet

1. Describe a common situation where someone commits an illegal act but does not intend to:
   • where someone accidentally or unintentionally harms another person.
   • where a person possesses something illegal but either does not know the nature of the substance or does not realize he has it.
   • where someone is acting on a mistaken set of facts.

1. In each of these scenarios, mark in the chart if you think that the person had the actus reus (guilty act) and the mens rea (guilty mind) necessary to be found guilty of the crime. Remember that someone may still have the mens rea if they are wilfully blind.

Act

Mens Rea