Actus rea is the guilty act; Mens rea is the guilty mind. These terms are important part of a lawyer's study of criminal law. The application of the concept is however, jurisdiction specific. This means that although the concepts have meaning an understanding of the criminal law, statues and case law, is necessary to apply then in an actual matter.

You need to retain a good criminal defense attorney immediately! The former is a drug possession charge and the other is a theft of Labor or services charge. Good luck!

720 ILCS 570/402 is essentially a "drug statute" prohibiting the possession of certain controlled substances, counterfeits, and analogs. Subsection (c) defines the penalties for violations of subsections (a) and (d). 720 ILCS 5/16-3(a) deals with the theft of labor or services and reads as follows: "A person commits theft when he or she knowingly obtains the temporary use of property, labor or services of another which are available only for hire, by means of threat or deception or knowing that such use is without the consent of the person providing the property, labor or services. For the purposes of this subsection, library material is available for hire."

Short answer: One is a drug related charge and the other is a type of theft charge.

Those questions deal with intent and the act of the crime.

You need to speak with an attorney about this as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Erick Platten
State Wide Representation

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