Def Elements And Causation Flashcards
Def Elements And Causation
Concise description of a conduct that a person can be held liable for
Not general for all crimes
Allows ordinary persons and court to knw which requirements to apply to a certain crime
Whoever does x commits a crime
Is a description of the kind of act prohibited
Difference between Def elements of a crime and definition of a crime
Def of a crime… Includes elements of crime and Req for Unlawfulness and culpability
Def elements… Not including Unlawfulness or culpability
Xs act is the realization of the Def elements
List the forms of Causation
Formally defined crimes and materially defined crimes
What is formally defined crimes
Defitional elements that prescribes a particular type of conduct irrespective of the outcome.
Must include an act
What are materially defined crimes
Defitional elements that do not prescribe a specific conduct but that any conduct causes a specific condition.
Not concerned with how.
Must be an act
Aka result or consequence crime
Describe what is meant by a casual link
In materially defined crimes.. Must be a casual link between xs conduct and the prohibited result.
Did xs act precipate ys death
Explain causing of death
Time and circumstances that resulted in someone’s death…
What are the principles that determine causation
Factual and legal causation
What is factual causation
Conditio sine qua non… But for.
If not for persons action wld x still be alive… If cannot think away the end result then guilty
What is legal Causation
Policy considerations that it is reasonable and fair tht xs act caused ys death
What constitutes legal causation
Various tests tht courts use to establish if x is the legal cause of a person’s death.
Eliminating factual causes
Theories of legal Causation
Individualisation
Adequate causation
Novus actus interveniens
Explain individualisation theory
Many conditions or factors that result in factual cause that is eliminated, look for the most operative for legal cause
Problem.. 2 or more condos can be operative in equal measures
If more than 3 persons can’t regard one as the only cause of another’s death
Little support of this test tdy
Explain adequate Causation
Aka the generalization theory
Ordinary person with certain type of conduct and certain type of result.
Contrast of normal with abnormal
It is a legal cause of a situation if according to human experience in the normal course of events, the act brings about tht kind of a situation
Explain Novus actus interveniens
New intervening event
An event occurs between xs act and ys death tht breaks chain of Causation.
Def Novus is if an constitutes an unexpected, abormal or unusual occurrence, occurrence that according to general human experience, deviates from normal course of events or cannot be regarded as a probable result of xs act.
