elements

The forces of nature. Violent or severe weather. The ultimate undecomposable parts which unite to form anything. Popularly, fire, air, earth, and water, anciently supposed to be the four simple bodies of which the world was composed. Often applied in a particular sense to wind and water, as "the fury of the elements." Fire and water as elements included in the expression "damages by the elements" means the same thing as "damages by the act of God." Elements of crime. Those constituent parts of a crime which must be proved by the prosecution to sustain a conviction. Com. v. Burke, 390 Mass. 480, 457 N.E.2d 622, 624.

A term used by the common law to refer to each component of the actus reus, causation, and the mens rea that must be proved in order to establish that a given offense has occurred. The term is more broadly defined by the Model Penal Code in No. 1.13(9) to refer to each component of the actus reus, causation, the mens rea, any grading factors, and the negative of any defense