A-level OCR Law Paper 1 Section B General elements of criminal liability (3-18) Flashcards
Actus reus: conduct and consequence crimes; voluntary acts and omissions' involuntariness; causation Mens rea: fault, intention and subjective recklessness; negligence and strict liability; transferred malice; coincidence of actus reus and mens rea
Actus Reus means and refers too
the guilty act and the doing part of the crime (physical element)
Mens Rea means and refers too
the criminal intent and the thinking part of the crime (mental element)
D is found guilty of a crime if
their behaviour in commiting the actus reus was voluntary
3 types of crimes dpeneding on the nature of the Actus Reus
Conduct Crimes/Consequence Crimes/State of affairs Crimes
Conduct Crime brief explanation with example
No consequence is required as the AR is the prohibited conduct itself for example drink-driving
Consequence Crimes brief explanation with example
The AR must result in a consequence for example assault causing ABH requires application or threat of force as well as consequence of the ‘actual body harm’
State of affairs Crimes brief explanation with example
being there in the prohibited circumstances is enough for AR for example possesing illegal drugs even if not doing anything with them is enough for the AR of the offence
Ommision means
a failure to act under a duty to act
what duties does parliament create
statutory duties
3 examples of statutory duties with act
failing to wear a seatbelt under Road Traffic Act 1988/Failing to muzzle a dangerous dog in public under Dangerous Dogs Act 1991/Neglecting a child under Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims act 2004
what duties do judges create
common law duties
5 examples of common law duties (CCODS)
Contractual Duties/Creating a Dangerous Situation/Official Position/Duty Undertaken Voluntarily/Special Relationship
Contractual Duties brief explanation and case example
duties arisen through contracts of employment e.g Pittwood 1902 where a railway crossing keepers omission of closing the gate formed AR for manslaughter
Creating a Dangerous Situation brief explanation and case example
failing to take reasonable steps and creating a dangerous situation e.g Miller 1983 where D had failed to call the fire brigade to deal with a fire and avoided it making him liable
Official Position brief explanation and case example
duty in relation to public office e.g Dytham 1979 where a police officer watched V get beaten up failing to perform his duty in a public position
Duty Undertaken Voluntarily brief explanation and case example
based on reliance formed from duty being undertaken by choice e.g Stone & Dobinson 1977 where D took in an elderly relative and failed to look after her so were liable for her death
Special Relationship brief explanation and case example
refers to matters involving guardian/parent typically e.g Gibbins & Proctor 1918 where a father starved his 7yr old daughter to death and his ommision to feed her formed AR
The Chain of Causation refers too
the relation between D’s action and the Consequence for example V’s death was the facutal cause of D’s conduct and it was the legal cause and with no intervening act D is guilty
What is Factual Causation
the starting point in establishing the chain of causation where it must be proved that the unlawful consequences would not have happened if not for D’s conduct
Case Example of Factual Causation
White 1910 where D was acquitted because although he tried to poison his mother she actually died because of a heart attack so he wasnt the factual cause
What is Legal Causation
the establishment/proof that though D might not be the only cause of the consequence but that D’s contribution was more than minimal
Case Example of Legal Causation
Benge 1846 where D substantialy caused a death during work on a train track as he could have prevented it if he had warned an approaching train driver even if the negligence of others played a part
What are intervening acts
acts that break the chain of causation preventing D from being liable for the end result even if Ds conduct was factual
3 instances that may break a chain of causation
An unforseeable act of nature (natural disaster)/The unforseeable act of a third party/V’s own subsequent conduct
effect of V’s own conduct on breaking the chain of causation
whether or not V’s conduct was within a range of responses that could be regarded as reasonable in the circumstances
2 Case examples of the effect of Vicitms own conduct on breaking the chain of causation comparison
Roberts 1971 where V’s reaction to jump from a moving car was reasonably foreseeable when D made sexual advances./Williams 1992 where V’s reaction jump from a moving car was not reasonably forseeable as it was to allegedly avoid the theft of his wallet
Effect of Medical treatment on breaking the chain of causation
it is unlikely to break the chain even if negligent unless it is so independent of D’s conduct and inherent in the causation of V’s death.
case example of Medical treatments effect on the chain of causation
Smith 1959 where after being stabbed in a fight by D, V was dropped twice on the way to the treatment centre and left untreated and whilst recognised as a conribution the stab wound was still operating so D was guilty of murder
4 rungs of the Mens Rea Ladder (RINS)
Recklessness/Intention/Negligence/Strict Liability
Intentions key points and effect on Mens Rea with brief explanation
Intention is judged subjectively and is the highest form of MR with the 2 types of intention being Direct and Indirect with Direct referring to where the result is D’s aim/purpose and Indirect referring to where the result isn’t D’s aim/purpose but D realises the result was ‘virtually certain’ to occur from their actions
case example of direct and indirect intention
Mohan D had driven his car at a police officer with intention to hurt him Woolin D threw his baby son across the room arguing he aimed towards the pram and not intended to kill him
Recklessness is
Recklessness is a lower level of MR and is only considered when D does not have intention and to prove that D is reckless it must be shown that D is aware of a risk of the consequences but continues anyways
case example of recklessness
R V G 2003 where defendants aged 11 and 13 had not realised the danger of the fire spreading uncontrollably to a nearby supermarket so it was only fair to judge the boys against the risks they had foreseen
Negligence is
where a person fails to meet the standard of the reasonable person and is objective as D does not have to realise this
case example of negligence
Adomako 1994 where anaesthetist was liable for gross negligence manslaughter as it took him several minutes to notice a breathing tube had become disconneceted during an operation as a resonable anaesthetist would have notice within a couple seconds
Strict liability key points and effect on Mens Rea with brief explanation
Strict liability offences are the ony exception to the general rule that both AR and MR are required for criminal liability and typically concern road traffic offences or breaches of health and safety legislation but can include issues of social concern also known as ‘no fault’ offences
case example of Strict liability
Callow v Tillstone 1900 a butcher was convicted of selling contaminated meat even though it had been certified as fit for human consumption by a vet so D was guilty because it was a strict liability offence.
Transferred malice explained
D can be guilty of he or she intended to commit a crime against A but instead commits the crime against Vso the MR can be transferred from A to V
case example of Transferred Malice
Latimer 1886 D aimed a blow with a belt at a man but it bounced of and hit a woman in the face so D was gulity of an assult against the woman even though he had not intention of hitting her applying the principle of transferred malice
Why could Transferred Malice not work with case example
if the eventual crime commited is different to the one intended Pembliton 1874 D threw a stone at V but missed and smashed a window
Explain a continuing act
where ther is an inital AR and provided at some point whilst it is occurring D forms the MR then the AR and MR are said to coincide
case example of continuing act
Fagan 1986 D drove onto a police offers foot by mistake and whe D realised what he had done he refused to move the car and fromed the MR and the AR was treated as a continuing act
