automatism Flashcards
what is automatism?
automatism is a type of incapacity offense that refers to the involuntary action or movement caused by an external factor
what are the two types of automatism?
non-insane automatism- where the cause is external
and the success results in a complete acquittal
insane automatism(INSANITY)- where the cause is internal and lies within the M nagthen rules , when the defense on insanity is successful the D is guilty by reason of insanity
when will the plea of automatism work?
automatism will only work when it is caused by an external factor that causes the defendant to totally lose control over their actions examples an invoultray natural reaction occurs such as a sneeze or a motorist loses control when a swarm of bees flees sting quoted by HILL V BAXTER
what did Lord denning do in bratty?
lord denning summarised automatism in bratty and stated that an act done by the muscles without any control by the mind such as a spasm or reflect or an act done by someone who is not conscious of their action or an act done whilst suffering from a concussion or sleepwalking
why was brome v Perkins not a successful defense of automatism?
Broome v Perkins wasn’t successful in their defense for automatism because d had some ability to voluntary control his actions and movements after eating a mars bar to counteract the effects of insulin
what is needed for automatism to be successful?
a d must show a total loss of control of his body movement so impaired, reduced or partial control is not sufficient enough for the defense of automatism
what did attorney generals reference no 2 of 1992 confirm?
ATR 2 of 1992 confirmed that reduced awareness cannot amount to an offence of automatism, eg in this case a lorry driver was driving for several hours and claimed that he was in a trance like state due to the driving and killed two people courts held that a trance like astate did not amount to automatism although the trance like state did reduce his awareness it did not eliminate it
what case confirmed that sneezing is an involuntary act that could be used for automatism?
R V WHOOLLEY - crashed into a vehicle in traffic causing a domino effect because he lost control of his vehicle when he sneezed, courts held that this could be used as an involuntary act under automatism
when have courts ruled that a dissociative state caused by some extraordinary event can be classed as automatism?
R V T. where a female was charged with ABH after it was discovered that she suffered from PTSD which resulted in her being in a dissociative state at the time of the offense however in this case this was not successful
which case undermined the value in R V T =?
R V NARANBROUGH- where courts ruled that PTSD does not mean that a defendant is no longer in charge of his actions
what else may automatism not be?
automatism may not be self induced illustrated in R V QUICK where d was suffering from a hypoglemic attack due to not eaten after taken his insulin
and demonstrated in kay v butterworth
which case was different to QUICK ? but had similar facts
R V HENESSY was different to R V Quick because he was suffering from a HYPERglemic attack which was caused by an internal factor, caused by him falling to take his insulin
why was KAY v butterworth not successful
KAY V BUTTERWORTH was not successful because D placed themself in a self induced state which meant that the defence of automatism was not available
what is the importance of R V CLARKE AND R V C
the importance of R V C AND R V CLARKE is that they demonstrate the principle of self induced automatism as both defendants suffered a hypoglemic attack which resulted in the death of a pedestrian
what principle was established by R V CLARKE AND R V C
the principle established din R V Clarke and R V C was reinforced in R V coley when the defendant placed themselves in a self induced state of automatism due to the consumption of cannabis which lead to invoulatey behaviour by his own fault.
