In order to be found guilty of committing a crime in a court of law, it must be determined that the accused person engaged in two elements: mens rea and actus reus – the guilty mind and the guilty action or omission. Both elements must coincide. Read each of the scenarios below to determine if both mens rea and actus reus coincide, indicating that the accused has committed a criminal offence. Click on the YES or NO button following each scenario.

1			Dolly was visiting her sick mother, Vesna, in the hospital. While sitting at her bedside, her drowsy mother asked her to assist in administering her medication. Dolly gave her mother what she thought was the correct dosage (it was the same blue pill that she had given her mother countless times before). Unbeknownst to Dolly, the blue pill had been changed in the hospital, and was, in fact, ten times the dosage of the original blue pill. As a result, Vesna suffered an overdose and subsequently died. Is Dolly guilty of committing a criminal offence?
			A)	Yes
			B)	No
2			Donald loves electronic devices. He has the latest version of every type of device, usually immediately after they are released. Recently he lost his job and has been low on cash. Instead of heading to the mall to purchase his much-loved devices, he has been buying them from Carter, a “friend of a friend”. He meets Carter at the corner of a quiet street after dark, where he can preview the items in the back of Carter’s van. Carter doesn’t provide a bill of sale, nor does he provide any details regarding the origin of the merchandise. Donald doesn’t ask. One evening, while purchasing $5000 worth of merchandise, the police interrupted their interaction. They charged Donald with being in the possession of stolen property. Is Donald guilty of committing a criminal offence?
			A)	Yes
			B)	No
3			Dominic and Victor are sworn enemies. They do not like each at all. On more than one occasion each has vowed, publicly, to hurt the other. One afternoon Dominic was driving his car during a very bad snowstorm. He was driving the speed limit when a deer ran out in front of his car. He swerved to miss the deer, hit a patch of ice and ended up crashing into a bus stop where Victor was standing waiting for a bus. Victor died instantly. Is Dominic guilty of committing a criminal offence?
			A)	Yes
			B)	No
4			Dudley is at a bar with some friends celebrating a friend’s birthday. After having several drinks he sees Vanessa, an old girlfriend, talking to a male in a dark corner. He becomes enraged and proceeds to pick up a beer bottle with the intention of throwing it at Vanessa directly. In his intoxicated state, his throw is off target and instead of hitting Vanessa, he hits Mrs. Vick, a 65-year-old woman who is in the bar with her husband. Mrs. Vick is knocked out cold. Is Dudley guilty of committing a criminal offence?
			A)	Yes
			B)	No
5			Mrs. Morin is Christmas shopping at a department store. She is looking for a special tie to purchase for her husband. She sees a beautiful brown silk tie, but is dismayed when she sees the price of $75.00 on the tie. She sees another brown tie that is not silk for $15.00. She very discreetly removes the $15.00 price tag from the cheaper tie and affixes it to the silk tie. She proceeds to the checkout and purchases the silk tie at $15.00. Did Mrs. Morin commit a criminal offence?
			A)	Yes
			B)	No
6			Marcus is walking through the mall, while dribbling his basketball. He notices a few girls headed in his direction and he wants to show off. He balances the ball on the tip of his finger and throws it toward one of the girls. She ducks when she sees the ball coming and the ball smashes through the front window of a store. Marcus is charged with breaking the window. Did he commit a criminal offence?
			A)	Yes
			B)	No
7			Mary is a cleaner at a large shopping mall. Her boyfriend asks her to leave a window unlocked in the mall so that he could enter the mall and steal goods. One night when Mary finishes her shift, she leaves the window unlocked in a sporting goods store. Later that night her boyfriend enters and leaves with $2,000 worth of goods. Did Mary commit a criminal offence?
			A)	Yes
			B)	No
8			Derek goes to the gas station to fill up his mini-van. He enters, fills up the tank and then leaves without paying. He is preoccupied because he has just been fired from his job, and he completely forgot to pay. Two weeks later the police call him because they have accessed his licence plate and he returns to the gas station to pay.
			A)	Yes
			B)	No