Causation Flashcards
What is causation
Causation is a type of actus reus which will need to be proven to ensure that the D ‘caused’ the crime to occur.
Causation is relevant in any result crime and is a particular issue in homicide cases as it must be proven that the act has caused the consequences. The act must cause the death and in many instances this is not straightforward.
What part of the death does the defendant have to be both responsible for
Factual and Legal
What is factual causation.
The prosecution must ask would the victim have died but for the defendant’s conduct? The defendant is not liable if V would have died anyway. This is known as the ‘but for’ test. This can be illustrated in the case of White (1910).
What is legal causation?
This is closely related with moral responsibility. The defendant’s act must be more than a minimal cause of death. It asks whether the defendant is morally to blame. This can be illustrated by the case of Marchant & Muntz (2004)
