Actus Reus Flashcards
What does Actus Reus mean?
Guilty Act
What does Mens Rea mean?
Guilty mind
What does result crime mean?
The AR of a result crime is the causing of a particular criminal result
What is a conduct crime?
The AR of a conduct crime is the undertaking of a particular behaviour or action, there is no need to prove that any particular result occurred as a consequence of the conduct
What are the 2 general principles of AR?
- The D must commit the the A/R voluntarily
2. The D must connect the A/R by a positive action
What is the exception to the voluntary principle?
State of Affairs Offences: generally the AR of the offence must be carried out voluntarily
There are certain offences where the D will have committed the AR by being in a certain ‘state of affairs’ - this means being in a certain place at a certain time even when there involuntarily
Hill v Baxter (Voluntarily Principle)
Judge gave examples where a person would not be regarded as driving voluntarily: if the D lost control of his vehicle because of a swarm of bees, they were struck on the head whilst driving or suffered a heart attack or epileptic fit
Winzar v Chief Constable of Kent
Facts: The D had been ordered to leave a hospital by some police officers; they placed him in their car. Once inside the car the defendant was arrested for ‘being found drunk on the highway’
This offence criminalised being drunk on a highway with no regard to how the defendant came to be found there, he was therefore guilty for being in that state of affairs despite being placed there involuntarily.
What are the 2 exceptions to the AR being a positive action?
There are 2 ways a D can commit the AR by omission:
- Where parliament have created an offence by a failure to act, e.g. failure to report a road traffic accident under s.170 Road Traffic Act 1988
- Where the law recognises that the D is under a duty act and they fail to act, this failure can form the AR of the offence
