Criminal law: Capacity defences Flashcards
What is the defence of insanity?
Where the defendant must prove that they were labouring under a defect of reason from a disease of the mind.
How can insanity be established ?
Applying the principles from
MNoghten 1843 :
> The defendant must suffer from a defect of reason
> The defect of reason must be the result of a disease of the mind
> This must cause the defendant to not know the nature and quality of their act or hat their act was wrong.
Who decides whether the defendant is insane?
The jury listens to medical evidence and try to understand psychiatric issues.
Where a defendant is found to be insane the verdict is not guilty by reason of insanity?
What is a defect of reason?
The defendants power of reasoning is impaired eg. in R v Clarke 1972 where it was held that defect of reason must be more than absent mindedness or confusion.
What is a disease of the mind?
A mental or physical disease that affects the mind eg. R v Kemp 1956 where it was held that Kemps understanding had been affected by his condition.
When does the defence of insanity not apply?
When the defendant defect of reason is due to external factor such as taking drugs.
Eg. in R v Coley 2018: defendant convicted of attempted murder despite being intoxicated from cannabis during the act.
What happens when the insanity defence is successful?
The judge can then impose
>A hospital order - This needs to be imposed for murder charge so the defendant can only be released with the permission of the home secretary
>A supervision order
>An absolute discharge
What is automatism?
Defined in Bratty (1963) as an act done without control by the mind or by person who is not conscious of what they are doing.
What is insane automatism?
Where the cause of automatism is a disease of the mind (insanity).
What is non insane automatism ?
Where the cause of a lack of control is external . Where the actus reas of a crime is involuntary due to the automatism the defendant does not have the required mens reas.
What is self induced automatism?
Where the defendant knows that their conduct is likely to bring on an automatism state.(not available for defence)
What needs to proven for an automatism defence?
The act that cause the defendants automatic state was involuntary and due to a external force.
What happens when the automatism defence is successful?
Aquttial
What is intoxication?
Where the defendant must prove that they were intoxicated by drink or a substance so they were unable of forming the mens reas for the offence?
Why is the law on intoxication policy-based?
Intoxication is a major factor is the commission of many crime.
To balance the rights of the defendant and the victim. If intoxication were always to be a defence then the victims rights would not be protected.
