Actus Reus Flashcards
Legal requirements for criminal liability
Actus reus + Mens Rea + no defence
Three elements of Actus Reus
Conduct, circumstances, causation
Types of crimes
result crimes, conduct only crimes
What is a result crime?
A crime which causes or results in specified consequences
What is a conduct only crime?
Where the conduct used is the offence, and there is no no required result element
Result crime formula
Conduct/Consequence + circumstance + causation = Actus reus
Conduct only crime formula
Conduct + circumstance = actus reus
What do conduct only crimes include?
Fraud, rape and driving offences
Causation 2-part legal test
Factual case + legal case
What is a factual case?
Questions whether the result came about because of the defendant’s conduct
What is a legal case?
Questions whether the result can be considered the defendant’s fault
Factual case test
- ‘But for’
- If the result would have occurred anyway, there is no factual case
De minimis meaning
More than negligible/insignificant
The skull/eggshell rule
Defendant must take the victim as they find them, irrelevant that the defendant would have a different effect on someone else
Victim’s conduct
Where the victim brings about their own harm by attempting to escape the defendant, the victim’s conduct does not break the chain of causation
What is the chain of causation?
A linked series of events leading from cause to effect, typically in the assessment of liability for damages
Drug cases
- Where the defendant supplies drugs and the victim inject drugs, overdoses and dies, the victim’s conduct breaks the defendant’s chain of causation for their death
- Must consider whether the victim’s act of injecting was free, voluntary and an informed choice
Third party conduct
Wouldn’t break the defendant’s chain of causation unless the outcome is a reasonably foreseeable possibility
Medical negligence
- Medical professional’s negligent treatment wouldn’t break the defendant’s chain of causation unless the treatment was independent or bad
- Must be so independent and potent that it renders the defendants’ actions insignificant even if they started the chain of events
Omission meaning
Failure to act
Conduct omissions
- Where the defendant fails to prevent the crime
- No ‘Good Samaritan Law’
- Public policy reasons for not imposing liability
Undermined autonomy
Commission by omission
An act of commission (doing something wrong) or omission (failing to do the right thing) that leads to an undesirable outcome or significant potential for such an outcome.
Three requirements of commission by omission
- Capable
- Legally recognised duty to act
- Defendant breached this legally recognised duty
If 3 requirements for commission for omission are met…
Do the test for causation
