New! H2O now has access to new and up-to-date cases via CourtListener and the Caselaw Access Project. Click here for more info.

Main Content

Casebook Read Credits
Ball/Oberman Current Challenges in Criminal Law
Section 2

Actus Reus: Addiction/Drug Policy

W. David Ball,
Michelle Oberman

Our actus reus cases teach that without a voluntary act, we cannot justify punishment. The challenge of drug and alcohol use, abuse and addiction cuts straight to the heart of questions of volition. This weeks' selections ask you to consider the challenge posed by our societal determination to criminalize (some) drugs. As you make your way through these various conversations, ask yourself the following questions:

1. How might this understanding of substance abuse complicate conventional notions of actus reus, central to criminal liability?

2. What is at stake, if the criminal legal system were to adopt a more nuanced response to substance use and addiction?

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages (theoretical and practical) to maintaining a role for the criminal law in response to substance use and addiction?

This book, and all H2O books, are Creative Commons licensed for sharing and re-use with the exception of certain excerpts. Any excerpts from the Restatements of the Law, Principles of the Law, and the Model Penal Code are copyright by The American Law Institute. Excerpts are reproduced with permission, not as part of a Creative Commons license.