elements of a crime Flashcards
3 ways the actual reus of a crime can be committed
1) an act (positive voluntary act)
2) omission
3) state of affairs
describe positive voluntary act
free willed
the term positive means the defendant has acted
They have done something such as an action which is criminal
describe omissions
failure act
you aren’t usually liable for an omission in this country as there is no good Samaritan law.
The law in England and Wales only makes a person liable when they have a legal duty to act.
5 scenarios you can be liable for an omission
1) duty through assumed responsibility (r v stone and robinson)
2) Duty to act due to a persons, contractual employment (r v pitwood)
3) Duty to act due to Ds public position (r v dytham)
4) Duty to act, because of a special relationship (r v Gibbins and proctor)
5) A duty to act which arises because D has created a dangerous situation and failed to take step steps to prevent the danger (r v miller)
describe state of affairs
A scenario where D may be convicted, even though he did not act truly voluntarily
State of affairs is where the accused has found themselves in circumstances that they did not choose to be in, but which are illegal
causation - factual
this is tested by using the ‘but for’ test
the defendant can only be guilty if the consequence would not have happened, but for his or her conduct
If the consequence would’ve occurred anyway the defendant will not be guilty
causation - legal
in order to establish legal causation, it must be shown that the defendants actions were not de minimus meaning that they were more than a minimal cause
nouvs actually inrervenienw
some situations may have more than one act or omission, which leads to the end result
if are several causes - Does the new intervening act break the chain of responsibility between the defendant and the victim
if the new act breaks, the chain of responsibility, D defendant is no longer liable 
2 ways the chain of causation can be broken
1) VICTIMS OWN ACTIONS: will only break the chain of causation where they are unforeseeable and unreasonable
2) MEDICAL TREATMENT/ACTION OF THIRD PARTY: generally a third-party doesn’t break the chain, but it could happen on very rare occasions. They will only break the chain in extraordinary and unusual circumstances. If it’s due to medical treatment, this will only break the chain where the treatment is so palpably wrong. 
thin skull rule
if the victim has something unusual about him, which makes the injury more serious than the defendant is liable for more serious injury
The defendant must take the victim as they find them 
direct intention
The outcome must be the defendants, aim, objective and purpose ( r v mohan)
indirect/oblique intent
it is a virtual certainty of his actions, and the defendant knows it is a virtual certainty (matthew’s v alleyne)
recklessness
The defendant must have foreseen the risk of harm in his actions, but took the risk anyway (r v cunningham)
transferred malice
The defendant can be guilty of a crime if he intended to commit a similar crime, but against a different victim 
coincidence of actus reus and men rea - continuing act
The actus reus can be a continuing act, and as long as the mens rea occurs at some point during the actus reus the defendant will be guilty (fagan v mpc)
