Actus Reus Cases Flashcards
R v Larsonneur (1868)
State of Affairs
- French woman (defendant) deported against her free will by the Irish Authorities
- Upon her arrival, immediately charged with offence of being an illegal alien
- Conviction upheld despite the fact she hadn’t voluntarily came to England
- Heard in Court of Appeal (crim division)
Hill v Baxter (1958)
An Act
- Defendant lost control of his vehicle because he was stung by a swarm of bees
- Not doing the act of driving voluntarily- not guilty
R v Pitwood (1902)
Omission- Contractual Duty
- Railway-crossing keeper omitted to shut gates, as a result a person crossing the line was truck and killed by a train
- Defendant guilty of manslaughter
R v Gibbins and Proctor (1918)
Omission- A duty because of relationship
- Father had a daughter from an earlier marriage
- He and his new partner kept daughter separate from other children and deliberately starved her to death
- Both convicted of murder, had a duty to feed her
R v Stone and Dobinson (1977)
Omission- Duty taken on voluntarily
- Stone’s older sister came to live with defendants
- She failed to eat, eventually became incapable of caring for herself
- Stone’s partner, Dobinson occasionally washed and helped prepare food
- Died from malnutrition
- Defendant’s guilty of manslaughter
- Stone owed his sister a duty of care, breached their duty
R v Evans (2009)
Omission- duty taken on voluntarily
- Victim aged 16 and a heroin addict, lived with mother and half-sister
- Half-sister brought heroin and gave it to V, injected herself
- Neither mother/sister tried to get medical help, so V died
- Mother and sister convicted of Gross Negligence Manslaughter
- Mother owed duty of care
- D claimed she didn’t owe duty of care, court upheld conviction
R v Dytham (1979)
Omission- Duty through one’s position
- Defendant- police-officer on duty
- Saw V thrown out of nightclub
- Fight arose, led to V being kicked to death
- D took no steps to intervene/summon help
- D found guilty of neglecting to perform his duty
R v Miller (1983)
Omission- Duty which arises because defendant set in motion a chain of events
- Involved squatter accidentally starting a fire in an abandoned building
- Other people in building
- Defendant found guilty of arson
Airedale v NHS Trust v Bland (1993)
Omission- Duty of doctors
- NHS gave permission to stop artificial feeding of a man who had been in a vegetative state for over 3 years.
R v Pagett (1983)
Factual Causation - ‘But for’ test
- D took pregnant gf from home by force, held hostage and police told him to surrender
- D fired at police, police returned fire
- D held girl as a shield- killed by police bullets- D convicted of Manslaughter
R v Hughes (2013)
Factual Causation- ‘But for’ test isn’t enough in its own for liability, must be something about action that is open to criticism, and which contributed in some more than minimal way to death.
- D driving camper van, car came swerving towards him
- Smashed into D’s camper van
- Other driver died from fatal injuries
- D not insured and didn’t have a full driving license
- Conviction quashed, although D was the ‘cause’ of the other driver’s death, not enough to be a legal effective cause
- Had to be something about driving that was open to criticism, which contributed in some more than minimal way to death.
R v Kimsey (1996)
Legal Causation- CoA stated it is acceptable to tell Jury there must be ‘more than a slight or trifling link’ (clear link between who initiated consequence and who caused it)
- D involved in a high speed car chase with friend
- Lost control of car and other driver killed
- CoA upheld D’s conviction, for causing death by dangerous driving
R v Blaue (1975)
Legal Causation - Thin Skull rule:
- Young woman stabbed by D- told she needed life-saving blood transfusion, refused as she was a Jehova’s Witness- religion forbade it
- Died, D convicted of Manslaughter
- D still guilty as he’d taken victim as he’d found her
R v Cheshire (1991)
Legal Causation- Chain of Causation- Intervening Acts- Acts of Third Party- Medical Treatment
- D shot V
- Developed breathing problems and given tracheotomy
- 2 months later V died from complications from tracheotomy
- By time V died, original wounds healed, no longer life-threatening
- D still held liable for V’s death
R v Jordan (1956)
Legal Causation- Chain of Causation- Intervening Acts- Acts of Third Party- Medical Treatment
- V stabbed in stomach, treated in hospital
- Given antibiotic- allergic reaction to it
- One doctor stopped using antibiotic, other doctor gave large dose of it
- V died from allergic reaction to drug
- Actions of doctor held to be an intervening act
- D not guilty of murder
