Actus reus

Question 1

define actus reus

Answer 1

actus reus is a physical element of a crime
it can be
an act
a failure to act
a state of affairs

Question 2

what is the voluntary nature of actus reus?

Answer 2

-this is where an act or omission must be voluntary on the part of the defendant
-if the defendant has no control over their actions then they have not committed the actus reus

Question 3

give a case example of a voluntary nature of actus reus

Answer 3

hill v baxter 1958
-whereby a defendant ignored the road sign which said halt and caused his van to crash
-the defendant claimed he did not remember what happened before the van crashing
-there was not evidence of this ,as result he was convicted
-however the court held that he has not committed actus reus because he could be attacked by bees, struck on the head by a stone or a heart attack while driving

Question 4

What are State of Affairs crimes?

Answer 4

-Usually, for Actus Reus to work, the defendant had to have had control over their actions, otherwise they cannot be convicted.
-In the case of State of Affairs, this is whereby even though the action was not voluntary, the defendant was still convicted.

Question 5

give a case example of state of affairs crimes

Answer 5

In R v LARSONNEUR (1933),
-a french woman had been forced to leave the UK, so she decided to go to Ireland. Upon arriving in Ireland, the
police forced her to go back to the UK, and she had no choice in the matter, so she did. Upon arriving in the UK, she was convicted since she was ordered to leave.

Question 6

What is Omissions as Actus Reus?

Answer 6

-This is whereby someone has failed to act. (and help someone in danger)
-Not all omissions or failures to act is considered a crime, as usually there must a legal duty for that person to act in order for it to be considered a crime.
-An example of when it is not a crime is if a normal person see’s someone else drowning, but does nothing, then their inaction will not be a crime. But if he were a lifeguard, then it would be a crime.

Question 7

in which situations can a person have the actus reus of a crime of failure to act in an omission?

Answer 7

1.Act of Parliament creates an offence involving an inaction/omission
2. **A contractual duty to act exists
3. Duty exists because of relationship between victim and accused (e.g parent and child)
4. Duty arises because defendant has set in motion chain of events
5. A duty exists because of official position of the accused (e.g consequence of the accused offical position)
6. duty toward the victim has been undertaken by the accused voluntairly

Question 8

Explain where an act of Parliament creates an offence involving an omission

Answer 8

And act of parliament can create liability for an omission.
-many of these statutory offences are regulatory and concern matters such as prevention of pollution and public safety ( such as failing to take a breath test as a driver)
-they often only require proof of an actus reus to establish guilt (they are srtict liability offences)

Question 9

give a case example of when contractual duty act exists as a way of crime in omission

Answer 9

-In R v Pittwood 1902, a railway crossing keeper who is thereby responsible for opening and closing the gates between a road and railway line, opened the gates to let a cart pass through but did not then close it, meaning that a train just passed through and collided with the cart and killed he cart driver.
-His inaction meant that he was guilty of manslaughter, as he failed his duty.

Question 10

give a case example of whereby an omission equals crime when a duty exists because of relationship between victim and accused (e.g parent and child)

Answer 10

r v gibbons proctor 1918
-where a child died of starvation
because the child’s father and partner failed to fee
-they were found guilty of murder because they had a duty to act and feed their child

Question 11

give a case example where the duty towards the victim has been taken on voluntarily by the accused

Answer 11

a duty which has been taken voluntarily bybthe accused can be actus rea where is a duty is not carried out
R V STONE AND DOBINSON 1977
where 2 defendants were convicted of manslaughter for not taking care of their sistr

-

Question 12

explain the duty to act arises as a consequence of the accused official position

Answer 12

this is unlike some countries whose law requires every person to act in situations where another person is in danger or distress
eg:R V DYTHAM 1979
where a police officer witnessed a violent agression on the victim but did nothing and drove away
the officer was guilty of willfully and without reasonable excuse neglecting to perform his duty

Question 13

give a case example and explain where Duty arises because defendant has set in motion chain of events

Answer 13

-R v Miller 1983
- a homeless person started a fire by accident and instead of putting it out he went to sleep in another room, thus making his inaction criminal)

Question 14

When is omission by doctors not a crime?

Answer 14

-omission by doc is not a crime of discontinuing medical treatment of a patient is done in the best interest.
-An example of this was Airedale NHS Trust v Bland 1993, whereby the a doc was given permission to stop feeding a man who had in vegetative state for over 3 years

Question 15

Causation and how to prove it?

Answer 15

Here, causation refers to the relationship of the defendant’s actions and the result of those actions. This relationship must be proved by the prosecution, and is therefore important.

Question 16

How can Causation be proved?

Answer 16

-A prosecutor needs to show that the defendant’s action was the factual cause of the consequence or crime and,
- The defendant’s action was, according to law, the cause of the action
-There was no action by the defendant to break the chain of causation.
-There are two ways to check for causation

Question 17

What is Factual Cause?

Answer 17

Whereby the defendant can only be guilty if the crime would not have happened “but for” the defendant’s actions.

Question 18

give a case example of a factual cause

Answer 18

R v White (1910)
- defendant poisoned his mother’s drink, but just before she drank it, she died of an heart attack. therefore the defendant was not guilty of murder, since she died before consumption of drink, and therefore would have died regardless of his actions.

Question 19

What is Legal Causation?

Answer 19

-This goes beyond the “but for” from factual cause, and also looks to answer if the defendant’s actions were a “substantial and operating cause” of the harm.
-For example, if you invite someone to your home, and on the way he is killed, one can argue that they would not have died “but for” your invitation. However, you clearly did not play a “substantial and operating cause” of the harm - the person attacking did. Thus, you will not be convicted.

Question 20

What is the thin skull rule

Answer 20

The thin skull rule is the idea that if someone has a preexisting physical and mental condition, and your action killed them or caused serious injury even if it normally would not kill or cause serious injury to someone, then you are still liable for that crime.

Question 21

give a case example of a skull rule

Answer 21

In R v Blaue 1975, a young woman was stabbed by the defendant, and although she might have lived after taking blood transfusions, she refused to do because of religious beliefs. The defendant argued that her death was not their fault, because she could have lived if not for refusing blood transfusions. However, he was still convicted of murder, because the defendant must take their victim as they find them, meaning they must accept her religious beliefs and still take full liability.

Question 22

What is chain of Causation?

Answer 22

-refers to the link between the defendant’s actions and the harm that resulted from it.
- to achieve this, the prosecution must prove that not only is there factual causation, but also legal causation, in order to ensure that an innocent person is not convicted, and that the action and the harm has a chain of causation that is “unbroken” or not intervened by some other cause

Question 23

In what ways can chain of causation be broken?

Answer 23

-An act of a third party
-The victim’s own act
-A natural but unpredictable event eg.earthquake or flood

Question 24

explain An act of a third party

Answer 24

-whereby a third person is the more substantial cause for the death.
-an example of this can be seen in poor medical treatment, where sometimes the poor medical treatment is the substantial cause for injury or death.
-although this is unlikely to be the substantial reason, it can happen if it is more substantial than the actions of the defendant.

Question 25

give example of an act of a third party

Answer 25

R v Jordan 1956, whereby victim was given large doses of antibiotics which resulted in an allergic reaction that caused their death. As a result of this, the defendant was not guilty since the third party played a larger role in the death.

Question 26

explain The victim’s own act

Answer 26

-Whereby if the victim’s actions or reactions are unreasonable, and that is what resulted in their death, then legal causation will lead to that breaking the chain of causation.
- However, if the defendant forced the victim to act in a certain way, and through that action they got injured, then the defendant is still liable.

Question 27

give example of a victim own act

Answer 27

R v Roberts (1971), whereby defendant acted in an inappropriate and sexual manner, resulting in a girl trying to jump from the car they were in, causing her injury. This lead to the defendant being guilty, since he forced her to act in those ways.