Criminal Law 1 - core principles Flashcards
What 4 types of actus reus are there?
- Conduct (e.g. fraud)
- Result: action must lead to specified consequences e.g. murder
- Circumstances (e.g theft)
- Omissions
What cases are there on factual causation?
- poisoned mother’s drink, found dead of an unrelated heart attack - no murder (but attempted murder)
- threw terminally ill child downstairs - accelerated death is still murder
What is required for legal causation?
- substantial cause (more than de minimis)
- harm caused by culpable act
- need not be the only cause
legal causation - What is the case on “ harm caused by culpable act”
driving horse an cart without holding reigns - couldn’t have stopped anyway, negligence in not holding the reins was not therefore what caused the death
legal causation - What is the case on “need not be the only cause”
railway track layers hit by train. Foreman had sent signaller up the track but he didn’t go far enough and train driver wasn’t looking. Had actus if negligence was a main or substantial cause of accident even if the accident could have been avoided.
For determining legal causation, when will the acts of third parties act as a NAI? (remember this is criminal)
Where they are:
- free,
- deliberate and
- informed
What cases are there for acts of third parties breaking the chain of causation?
used pregnant girlfriend as a shield whilst shooting at the police, police shot the woman - police actions were not free, deliberate and informed.
What cases are there for medical negligence breaking the chain of causation?
- soldier stabbed, dropped twice on way, received medical treatment that was harmful and died - didn’t break the chain.
- shot and developed respiratory issues, tracheotomy scars blocked his windpipe and he died after original wounds had healed - didn’t break the chain
For determining legal causation, when will medical negligence act as an NAI? (remember this is criminal)
Only if the second cause is so overwhelming as to make the original wound merely part of the history
In fright and flight cases, for determining legal causation, when will the acts of victim be an NAI? (remember this is criminal)
- Vs action not ‘so daft’ that could not be foreseen
- Must be some proportionality between gravity of the threat and the action of the deceased in seeking to escape from it
(Jumping out of cars)
What are the cases, for determining legal causation when considering the acts of victim.
- unwanted sexual advances jumped out of car “so daft”?
- jumped out of car at knifepoint - reasonably foreseeable that some harm, albeit not serious, was likely to result from threat and was conduct of V proportionate to that threat?
- religious beliefs so no blood transfusion - not an NAI
- attack resulted in a cut finger, refused amputation, died of infection - not an NAI
- slashed V, V opened wounds and died - not an NAI
For determining legal causation, if a victim refuses medical treatment, will this act as an NAI?
No - Ds must take victims as they find them, in mind and body
For determining legal causation, when will natural events act as an NAI? (remember this is criminal)
If they are extraordinary and not reasonably foreseeable
When will a victim’s suicide NOT break the chain of causation?
Not if
- cause was original wound
- reasonably foreseeable (e.g. pianist lost fingers)
When will a victim’s suicide break the chain of causation?
- injuries have healed
- voluntary and informed decision - e.g. handed heroin syringe to V who then injected himself.
