automatism Flashcards

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1
Q

what is automatism?

A

when a person’s consciousness is so impaired that they’re acting in a state of physical involuntariness, so cannot be held responsible for their actions as there is no mens rea

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2
Q

what is the evidential burden of proof, legal burden of proof and result of automatism?

A

-evidential is on defence to prove automatism
-legal is on prosecution
-complete acquittal

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3
Q

what is necessary for automatism?

A

-must be an external factor, eg being struck on the head
-must be a total loss of control (partial/reduced/impaired invalidates it)

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4
Q

what is self-induced automatism?

A

-if the defendant knows their conduct will bring about an autonomic state, the defence isn’t available
-in such a situation, the d will usually have a defence to specific intent, but not to basic intent
-exception = the defendant didn’t know their conduct would cause automatism

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5
Q

key cases on automatism

A

-r v t (external factor)
-A-G Reference No2 1992 (total loss of control)
-McGhee (self-induced)

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6
Q

reform proposals for automatism

A

law commission (criminal liability : insanity and automatism 2013)
-abolish current defence, replace with ‘automatism triggered only when there is a total loss of capacity to control ones own actions which is not caused by a recognised medical condition)
-new ‘recognised medical condition’ defence, for people with diabetes/epilepsy etc
-successful outcome of new defence = total acquittal

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