Actus Reus - Criminal Law Flashcards
What does actus reus mean in criminal law?
Guilty act
What can an actus reus be?
It can be an act, a failure to act (an omission) or a “state of affairs”
What are conduct crimes?
Where its not needed for consequences to be proved. In theft the prohibited conduct was stealing someone else’s property
What are consequence crimes?
Where the prohibited conduct must also result in a consequence
Whats an example of consequence crimes?
In ABH, there must be a consequence such as a bruise or broken nose for AR to be complete
What are state of affairs crimes?
The AR where the defendant is responsible
Whats an example of state of affairs crime?
Possession of a controlled drug. It doesn’t matter is going to use the drug or sell it, the possession of it alone is enough for the AR
Whats the voluntary nature of Actus Reus?
The defendant’s act or omission must be voluntary. If the D has no control over their actions, then they haven’t committed the AR
What happened in R v Mitchell?
The D punched an old man which made him fall backwards into an old woman who died from her injuries. The old man wasn’t convicted, but D was convicted of manslaughter. Shows that criminal law is only concerned on the part of the defendant.
Describe Hill v Baxter
The Court gave examples in obiter dicta of a D lacking criminal liability. When a driver loses control of a car as he was stung by a swarm of bees or had a heart attack whilst driving.
Has anyone been convicted by acting involuntarily? (Involuntary nature of AR)
In some rare cases, defendants have been convicted, despite not acting voluntarily.
What happened in R v Larsonneur?
The D was deported against her will from Ireland to England by Irish Authorities. Her conviction of being an “illegal alien” was upheld, despite the fact she had involuntarily arrived.
Can an omission make a person guilty of an offence normally?
The normal rule is that it can’t. Judge Stephen J stated that an omission can’t make a person guilty of an offence
What are the exceptions to this rule?
In some cases an omission can be the AR, but only where theres a duty to act
Whats a statutory duty?
An Act of Parliament can create liability for an omission. E.g Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 made all household members liable for failing to protect the victim including a child or vulnerable person.
Whats a case of a Contractual Duty?
R v Pittwod - a railway crossing keeper failed to shut the gate which resulted in a train crash, killing the train driver. The D was liable for the death involved, as he had a contractual duty to shut the gate, he was employed by the railway company to do so.
Whats a case example of a duty undertaken voluntarily?
R v Stone and Dobinson - Stone’s older sister Fanny died from malnutrition. They let her stay in their home willingly. It was their duty to take care of her themselves or summon help from others. Both failed to take care of Fanny when she was sick so were found guilty of manslaughter.
Whats a case example of duty through one’s official position?
R v Dytham - the D was a police officer who stood by whilst a bouncer kicked a man to death. It was held he was guilty of neglecting to perform his duty
Whats a case example of duty due to a relationship?
R v Gibbons and Proctor - the defendants, a father and his mistress starved their 7 year old daughter to death with intention to kill. Both had a duty to feed the child and the failure to do so was enough for the AR of murder. D’s were found guilty of murder.
Whats a case example of a duty due to the D setting a chain of events?
DPP v Santa Bermudez - when being searched by a police officer, the D said he wasn’t carrying any sharp objects. But the police officer was pricked by a sharp needle, causing bleeding. D was charged with battery causing ABH
Whats the duty of doctors?
If a doctor decides to stop treating a patient as its in their best interests, then its not an omission and they aren’t liable for the patients death.
What happened in Airedale NHS Trust v Bland?
Tong Bland was crushed in Hillsborough and was reduced to a persistent vegative state for 3 years. He was allowed to die by the courts via withdrawal of life prolonging treatment. This was held to be in his best interests.
Whats factual causation?
When the defendant can only be guilty if the consequence wouldn’t have happened “but for” the defendants conduct.
What happened in R v Pagett?
The D held his pregnant girlfriend hostage. D came outside, holding the girl in front of him and fired at the police. The police returned the fire and the girl was killed by police bullets. D was guilty as the girl wouldn’t have died “but for” him using her as a human shield.
