actus reus and omission Flashcards
Why is the concept of auctus reus and mens rea important ?
Because it is needed in order to find anyone guilty of a criminal offence
What is meant by Actus Reus ?
This is the doing part of the offence ie stabbing and kicking which means that the defendant must have done voluntarily
ie the case of Hill v Baxter
What is the case that establishes actus reus ?
Hill v baxter
What is an action crime ?
This is where the actus reus is just an act and the consequences are immaterial
What is an result crime ?
This is where the d’s behaviou produces a result ie the murder must cause the victims death
- Result crimes raise the issue of causation
What is meant by state of affairs ?
This is where someone can be committed for belonging to an organisation or being in a place where they shouldn’t be
- The actus reus is involuntary ie in winzar v chief constable of kent
What is meant by Omissions ?
This is where the law imposes a duty to act , this means that a person can be criminally liable for doing nothing
What are the six circumstances in which there is a duty to act ?
- Duty imposed by statue
- Duty imposed by contract
- Duty imposed by public office
- Duty imposed by special relationship between D and V
- Duty arising from the assumption of care of another
- Duty arising from a dangerous situation
Explain what is meant by duty to act by statute
This means that a statue imposes responsibility ie the children and young persons act 1933 which imposes a responsibility to act on parents eg in R V LOWE
- Road traffic act 1988 which imposes a duty to provide a police officer with a breath speciman and give insurance details in an accident
- Domestic violence crime and victims act 2004 which created the offence of familia homicide ie in Mujuru as he had a duty to act and failed to take reasonable steps to protect V’s daughter
What is the statue that makes it a duty /responsibility for parents to act
Children and young persons act 1933- in the case of R V LOWE
What case can be used to show that parents have a duty to act ?
R V LOWE
What statue imposes a duty to act regarding breath speciman and providing insurance details
The road traffic act 1988
What statue imposes a duty to act / creates responsibility too act regarding domestic violence ?
The Domestic Violence and Victims Act 2004 - Majuru
What case shows a duty to protect children under the DVCV ACT 2004
MUJURU - where the d knew her partner had a history of violent behaviour but left the baby in his care. - she failed to take the reasonable steps to protect her daughter
What is meant by duty imposed by contract ?
This means that a person may be liable for an offence if they fail to act under there contractual duty ie in the case of:
- Pitwood - failed to close the gate which resulted in the death of the victim
- Adomako - convicted of manslaughter because he failed to notice a vital breathing tube
What cases illustrate a contractual duty ?
Pitwood- failed to fulfil contractual duty by leaving gate open
Adomako - failed to acknowledge breathing tube disconnected which lead to the death of the Victim
What is meant by duty imposed by public office ?
This is where a public body/ official has a duty to act in certain situations and may be liable if they don’t ie
Dytham - it is an offence for a police officer to neglect his duty where he watched a man get beat up and did nothing
What case illustrates a duty imposed by public office ?
Dytham - police officer watched a man get kicked and did nothing which resulted in him being seriously injured
What is meant by a duty imposed where there is a special relationship between the parties ?
The courts have recognised that where there is a special relationship between paries such as children and parents , husband and wife they owe each other duties ie :
- Gibbins and Proctor- This is where D’S failed to feed child even though there was money given to feed her .D’s were under a duty to act
- R v instan -D’s failed to get her aunt any medical help -
What cases illustrate a duty to act because of a special relationship ?
Gibbins v Proctor- Duty to take care of the V
- R v Instan - Failed to get V medical help
What is meant by duty arising from the assumption of care of another
This is where is a duty to act if someone voluntarily chooses to take care of another ie R v Instan
- The leading case is R Stone and Dobbinson where there was a duty to summon effective medical help
Evaluations
- The law on omissions specifically a duty to act arising from the assumption of care of another can be seen as harsh and confusing as there is a lack of clarity on how far defendants are are expected to go regarding there duties
R V stone and dobbinson - the law on omissions does not acknowledge learning difficulties that may delay there
Explain a duty arising from the creation of a dangerous situation
This is where a person is under a duty to act if they create a dangerous situation ie
- R v MILLER
What cases illustrate a duty arising from the assumption of the care of another
R v Stone and Dobbinson - where there was a duty to act
Explain a duty arising from the creation of a dangerous situation
This is where a duty is imposed when a person creates danger they need to minimise the harm once they become aware if it
- R V MILLER - where a squatter it a cigarette and then fell asleep The House of Lords said that we all have a responsibility for our actions even if unintentional and where others are placed in danger from these actions we are expected “to do something
What was created from the case of R V MILLER
The case of R v Miller which established the miller principles which was illustrated in
- Dpp v santanan Bermudez- where a policewomen was conducted a search and got stabbed
- R v Evans - where the V died beccause d gave v drugs
What is meant by Release from Duty
What are some Negative evaluations on actus reus and omissions
- It is not always easy to decide if a duty exists or not. The problems of defining a duty and whether it exists mean that potentially the concept of a duty can be extended to a vast amount of areas. This is illustrated by Khan and Khan , which may could cause serious problems for human liberty and it could mean that it would be reduced to the extent that we are not free to act in any situation.
- Decisions are frequently made on a case-by-case basis, causing uncertainty. However the law can expand when necessary e.g. to deal with drug suppliers and the consequences of the drugs they supply as illustrated in R v Evans (2009).
- When does a duty cease to exist? This is a problematic area. If the defendant has formed a duty of care then how can they get out of this duty or be released from it? R v Smith (1979), Bland (1993). A person may not know the full extent of the duty or be able to fulfil it. This is because a defendant may take on a voluntary duty of care of an individual but later may wish to withdraw from the duty
Summarise some negative evaluations
- It is not easy to decided if a duty exists , there is a significant issue when defining a duty ie Khan and Khan
- It is uncertain - because decisions are made on a cse by case basis
