1: Acts Rea : Omission

Question 1

what are the 5 categories to act?

Answer 1

Offence-specific duties
Contractual duties
Familial duties
Voluntary assumption of care duty
Creation of a dangerous situation duty

Question 2

what is Offence-specific duties? EG?

Answer 2

Duty to act is imposed in a particular statute or by common law
the failure to act constitutes the specific offence

Eg Road traffic Act 1988, s.170(4) failure to report a road accident

Question 3

what are contractual duties? EG.

Answer 3

Where D has a contractual duty to act, this may be recognised as forming basis for omissions liability in criminal law

Examples: doctors, carers

Question 4

what cases are related to contractual duties?

Answer 4

Example: Pittwood (1902) 19 TLR 37

Question 5

what happened in Example: Pittwood (1902) 19 TLR 37? Contractual duty

Answer 5

D was a gatekeeper at a railway. He had opened the gate to allow a cart through and then forgotten to close it. Another cart was hit by a train and the train driver was killed.

D was liable for manslaughter based on his failure to perform his contractual duty to close the gate.

Question 6

what is Familial duties? EG.

Answer 6

When there is an established duty between family members.
EG. between a married couple or a relationship between a parent and a child.

However it is not related between siblings or grandparents they do not have duty.

Question 7

what are the 3 cases related to familial duty?

Answer 7

Gibbons & Proctor (1918) 13 Cr App R 134: failure to feed liable for murder

Evans (Gemma) [2009] EWCA Crim 650: failure to summon medial aid when daughter overdosed on heroin liable for gross negligence manslaughter
However may not extend to adult children:

Sheppard (1862) Le & Ca 147 – no duty to 18 year old daughter

Question 8

what is Voluntary Assumption of Responsibility?

Answer 8

A duty arises where D has voluntarily undertaken to care for V in a situation where V is unable to care for themselves

The duty is based on D having assumed responsibility for V.

Question 9

when is Duty not based for Voluntary assumption of responsibility?

Answer 9

on contractual duties (i.e. between a paid carer and V)

or on the status of the relationship between D and V,

or on living together

Question 10

Give example of cases where there tends to be some kind of relationship/ living in the same home but is not a legal relationship?

Answer 10

Gibbons and Proctor (above) – step-mother

Stone & Dobinson [1977] QB 354 (CA)

Question 11

what happened in the Stone & Dobinson [1977] QB 354 (CA)?

Answer 11

Stone & Dobinson [1977] QB 354 (CA):
V came to live with her brother (S) and his partner (D). V suffered from anorexia nervosa and became increasingly unwell and eventually became bedridden. S & D did nothing to help her. She died and they were convicted of gross negligence manslaughter;
Duty arose where D undertook the care of a person who by reason of age or infirmity was unable to care for themselves

Question 12

what is the Creation of a dangerous situation duty? (also known as endangerment)

Answer 12

Where D has created a dangerous situation, D may be under a duty to prevent the harm resulting.

Two important cases:
Miller [1983] 2 AC 161 (HL)
Evans [2009] EWCA 650

Question 13

what are the 2 cases for Creation of a dangerous situation duty?

Answer 13

Miller [1983] 2 AC 161 (HL)

Evans [2009] EWCA 650

Question 14

what happened in Miller [1983] 2 AC 161 (HL) ?

Answer 14

Facts:
D was drunk an fell asleep with a lighted cigarette in a house where he was staying
When he woke he discovered the mattress was on fire
He moved into another room – did nothing to stop the fire

Procedure:
Was charged with arson (criminal damage by fire) and convicted
CA: dismissed appeal – conviction upheld
HL: certified question because CA dismissed appeal

Question 15

what was the result of Miller [1983] 2 AC 161 (HL) ?

Answer 15

D did something where (inevitably) created a dangerous situation and becoming aware of it he failed to take steps to avert it.

An omission

Question 16

what is an omission?

Answer 16

A failure to perform an act where an individual has a duty to act upon or is required by law.

Question 17

what happened in the case Evans [2009] EWCA 650?

Answer 17

D was V’s half sister.
D supplied V with heroin which she injected and became unwell but D did not realise that.
D did not summon any medical attention which resulted to V’s death.

Question 18

what was the result in Evans [2009] EWCA 650?

Answer 18

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Question 19

what was the difference between the cases Evans and Miller?

Answer 19

Miller (HL) – D has a duty to act having created a dangerous situation where he became aware of the danger he created

Evans (CA) – wider: D has a duty to act having created a dangerous situation where she became aware or ought to have become aware of the danger created

Question 20

what does the breach of duty mean?

Answer 20

A failure to do something that you are legally responsible for

Question 21

what is the difference between acts and omissions?

Answer 21

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Question 22

what happened in Fagan V Metropolitan Police Commissioner [1969] 1 QB 439?

Answer 22

D accidentally drove car onto foot of police officer. When officer ask him to move he refused to do so: he stayed on the foot.

D appealed on the basis that there cannot be an offence in assault in omitting to act and that driving on to the officer’s foot was accidental, meaning that he was lacking mens rea when the act causing damage had occurred.

The legal issue here was whether the prosecution had proven facts which had amounted to an assault.

For an assault to be committed both actus reus and mens rea must be established at the same time.

Question 23

what was the result in Fagan V Metropolitan Police Commissioner [1969] 1 QB 439?

Answer 23

On this basis, it was held that Fagan’s crime was not the refusal to move the car but that having driven on to the foot of the officer and decided not to cease the act, he had established a continual act of battery. This meant that actus reus and mens rea were present and as such, an assault was committed.

Question 24

what 2 things must there be for an assault to be committed?

Answer 24

For an assault to be committed both actus reus and mens rea must be established at the same time.

Question 25

what is causation?

Answer 25

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Question 26

How is causation a requirement for all result crimes? (2)

Answer 26

Result crimes require that D’s act or omission caused the prohibited consequence.

E.g. for murder must prove that D’s act/omission caused death;
for s.47 (ABH) must prove that D’s act caused actual bodily harm….

This usually does not create difficulties – in many cases it will be obvious that D caused the result

E.g. D stabs V several times in the abdomen; D dies as a result of these stab wounds; D has caused V’s death

Question 27

what are the 2 rules of causation?

Answer 27

Causation in fact

causation in law

Question 28

what is causation in fact?

Answer 28

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Question 29

what is an example for causation in fact?

Answer 29

White [1910] 2 KB 124

Question 30

what happened in White [1910] 2 KB 124?

Answer 30

D put poison in his mother’s drink intending to kill her.
V drank some of this and died.
However, medical evidence showed that she died due to an unrelated heart condition, not because of the poison.
D charged with murder

Question 31

what was the result in White [1910] 2 KB 124?

Answer 31

Death would have occurred anyway, in the same way (heart’s failure)and at the same time, without D’s act

Crown court & Court of Appeal decided that D was not liable for murder because there was no causation.

However, D was liable for attempt to murder

Question 32

why was D not found liable for murder in White [1910] 2 KB 124?

Answer 32

If the poison had contributed to the heart attack, so that V died at an earlier time than she would have, then factual causation would have established

Question 33

what is causation in law?

Answer 33

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