Hudson v. Superior Court of Orange County

Opinion

MOORE, Acting P. J.

Generally, a crime occurs when a person commits a wrongful act (an actus reus) with the requisite criminal intent (a mens rea). In *1168some cases, a person’s failure to act (an omission) constitutes the actus reus. In California, it is a crime when a person willfully fails to timely file a state tax return (the actus reus) with the intent to evade paying the taxes that are owed (the mens rea). (Rev. & Tax. Code, § 19706.)1

Here, the prosecution introduced evidence at a preliminary hearing showing that Blake A. Hudson failed to timely file tax returns for three consecutive…