Criminal conduct Flashcards
liability for an offence
what is liability ?
legal responsibility
when proving actus reus what must you show?
that the defendants conduct was voluntary (i.e. no duress)
that the defendant acted in a certain way or failed to act (i,e. omission) and brought about a state of affairs i.e. committed the offence
that is occurred whilst the defendant still had the requisite mens rea
when can omission to act bring about a liability?
where you have a DUTY to act
D - dangerous situation created by defendant, and fail to stop/prevent situation i.e. lighting a fire and not putting it out
U - under statute, contract or public office
statute - the law states you must do something and you fail to do so
contact - part of your legal contract compels you to do something and you fail
public office - duty of care i.e. a police office failing to prevent an assault
T - taken it upon self, defendant decides to carry out a duty and fails
Y - young person, where defendant has parental responsibility there is an obligation to care but fails
you must show a voluntary omission
there are two types of liability, as a principal party or an accessory, explain accessory
an accessory is someone who helped in or brought about the commission of the offence by aid - giving help/support/assistance abet - incite, instigate, encourage counsel - advise/instruct procure - bring about
must show proof of intention to aid as well as knowledge of the circumstances
what is joint enterprise?
two or more people embark on commission of offence - all have a common goal of committing offence
both or all can be found guilty of the offence, if all had that same desired goal
what is a conspiracy?
this is an agreement between more than 1 person to pursue a course of conduct to commit an offence
failure to result or abandoning plan will not prevent the conspiracy being committed
cannot be in conspiracy with spouse or civil partner, person under 10, or intended victim
