actus reus

Definition

The physical act of committing a crime, as opposed to just thinking about it really hard. It's the 'you actually have to do something illegal' requirement of criminal law—mere evil thoughts don't count, despite what your conscience says.

Example Usage

While the defendant clearly hated his boss, there was no actus reus since threatening someone in your diary doesn't constitute assault.

Origin

Latin for 'guilty act'

Fun Fact

Actus reus and mens rea together form the two essential elements of most crimes—you need both the guilty act and the guilty mind to earn that orange jumpsuit.

Source: Common criminal law terminology

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