Causation Flashcards
Is voluntary suicide a satisfactory Novus Actus Interveniens, and which cases demonstrates this?
No - R v. Dear [1996]
When will acts of God break the causal link?
When the events are not reasonably foreseeable.
In Smith [1959] was the causal link broken, and why/why not?
No - only if the second cause is so overwhelming as to make the original wound merely part of the history can it be said that the death does not flow from he wound.
What are the two leading cases for the thin skull rule?
R v. Hayward (1908) & R v Blaue [1975]
What is the thin skull rule?
You must take your victim as you find them.
The test originally used in R v Roberts (1971)?
was it ‘so daft that no reasonable person could have foreseen it?’
What was the test in R v Roberts adapted to in R v Mackie? (1973)
Were the V’s actions something that could reasonable have been foreseen as the consequence of what D was saying or doing? - Stephenson LJ
What test establishes legal causation?
Operating and Substantial cause - was the accused’s conduct the operating and substantial cause of the result?
Factual causation: The D’s act need not be the only cause but merely substantial. It must be the material and substantial cause - what case illustrates this?
R v Benge (1865)
What must actions of third parties be so as to break the casual link and what case illustrates this?
Actions of third parties must be free, deliberate and informed - R v Pagget [1983]
Define causation.
The link between the D’s actions and the criminal consequences. The causal link.
What was the ‘substantial’ element of the legal cause test defined as?
‘More than slight or trifling link”
What does the ‘De Minimis Principle’ demonstrate?
That the conduct of D need not be the only or the main cause of the end result just along as it it provides a more than minimal cause.
What is the two-part test in Fright & Flight situations?
1) Was it reasonably foreseeable that some harm was likely to result from the threat itself? 2) Was the v’s reaction within the range of response which might be expected from a V in the same situation?
What type of crimes is causation relevant?
Result crimes - causal link must be proven so to say the D caused the result proscribed by law.
