Elements of a crime

Question 1

Woolminton v DPP (1935) (beyond reasonable doubt)

Answer 1

Reginald Woolminton married 17 year old Violet. Shortly after they fell out and Violet left him to live with her mum. After Reginald stole a double barrel shot gun and cartridges and sawed off the barrel, cycled to the mothers house and shot and killed Violet. He argued that he didn’t mean to mean her and lacked the mens rea.

Question 2

R v Mitchell (1983) (voluntary act)

Answer 2

The appellant tried to jump the queue at a post office. An elderly man took issue with the appellant’s behaviour and challenged him. The appellant hit the old man and pushed him. The man fell back onto others in the queue including an elderly lady who fell and broke her leg. She later died. The appellant was convicted of manslaughter and appealed contending that the unlawful act was not directed at the woman.

Question 3

Pitwood (1902) (contractual duty to act)

Answer 3

The defendant was employed by a railway company to man the gate at a level crossing. The defendant lifted the gate to allow a cart to pass and then went off to lunch failing to put it back down. A train later collided with a horse cart killing the driver. The defendant was liable for the death of the train driver as it was his contractual duty to close the gate.

Question 4

Gibbind and Proctor (1918) (omission special relationship)

Answer 4

Gibbins took his children and moved in with his new partner Proctor, the 7 year old daughter was kept separate from the other kids and was starved to death. The court ruled that Gibbins had a duty of care over the girl alongside Proctor as she had taken responsibility for the child.

Question 5

Stone and Dobinson (1977) (omission a special relationship)

Answer 5

Stone was 67, totally blind, partially deaf had no appreciable sense of smell and was of low intelligence. He lived with his housekeeper and mistress of 8 years, Dobinson aged 43 who was described as ineffective and inadequate. Stones sister Fanny came to live with them. She had previously lived with another sister but had fallen out with her. She had mental problems and was suffering from anorexia. Stone and Dobinson took her in and agreed to looking after her. However, Fanny’s condition deteriorated and she was found dead in her bed in appalling conditions.

Question 6

R v Evans (2009) (acceptance of responsibility)

Answer 6

The appellant was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter. The appellant her mother and Carly all had a history with heroin addiction, Carly had just been released on licence from a detention and treatment order and a condition of the licence was that she resided at her mother’s house. The appellant bought some heroin and gave it to Carly. Carly self injected the heroin and then developed symptoms which the appellant from her own experience recognised as being consistent with an overdose. The appellant and her mother decided not to seek medical assistance for fear of getting into trouble. Carly died.

Question 7

Dytham (1979) ( Duty imposed by an official position)

Answer 7

The defendant was a police officer. He stood by whilst a bouncer kicked a man to death. He was charged with the offence of misconduct in a public officer. He argued that the offence could not be committed by an omission ad it specifically requires misconduct the conviction was upheld.

Question 8

Miller (1983) (Dangerous situation)

Answer 8

The defendant had been out drinking for the evening. He went back to the house he had been staying in and fell asleep on a mattress with a lighted cigarette in his hand. He woke and saw that the cigarette had started a small fire. Upon seeing the fire he then got up and went to another room and went back to sleep. At his trial, the prosecution did not rely on the acts of the defendant in falling asleep with a lighted cigarette as being reckless, but relied solely on the grounds that upon becoming aware of the fir he failed to take steps to put the fire out or call the fire service

Question 9

Lowe(1973)

Answer 9

Defendant was of low intelligence. He had a 9 week old baby who became ill and died. He said he had told the mother to take the child to the doctor but had done nothing further. He was convicted of manslaughter but this was quashed on appeal because there was no unlawful and dangerous act.

Question 10

Matthew & Alleyne (2003)

Answer 10

Defendants dropped the victim 25 feet away gf a bridge into a river despite him telling them to make his way towards the riverbank but the defendants left before he reached it and he drowned. Following woolin, foresight of consequences is not intention but is a rule of evidence. If the jury decided the defendant foresaw then they are entitled to find intention but are blind obligated to do so.

Question 11

Cunningham (1957) (subjective test)

Answer 11

The defendant tore a gas metre off a wall to steal the money from it. The gas leaked into the next door. The woman became very ill as a result. Cunningham was charged with ‘maliciously’ administering a noxious thing under the offences against the person act 1861. He was acquitted because he did not intend to cause any harm and didn’t therefore realise he was taking a risk.

Question 12

Stephenson (1979)

Answer 12

Stephenson was a schizophrenic. He was sleeping in a haystack and decided to light a fire to keep himself warm. He caused £300 damage and was prosecuted. The court held that his schizophrenia prevented him from realising that he had created a risk that would have been foreseen by a reasonable man. The Cunningham test was therefore applied.

Question 13

Caldwell (1982) (objective test)

Answer 13

Caldwell was not happy about having been dismissed from his job in a hotel. When he was very drunk he broke a window on the ground floor and started a fire. The fire was put out very quickly and no one was harmed. Caldwell was charged with criminal damage and convicted.

Question 14

Elliot V C (minor) (1983)

Answer 14

The defendant was a 14 year old girl with learning difficulties. She was -laying with white spirit and matches in a garden shed which was destroyed in the fire that followed. She gave no thought to the risk but was not capable of appreciating the risk anyway due to her learning difficulties. She was found guilty because the court was bound by the decision in Caldwell.

Question 15

R V G and another (2003)

Answer 15

Two boys, aged 10&11, entered the back yard of a shop and set fire to some newspapers. They put the newspaper under a wheelie bin and left the premises without checking that the fire had gone out. The fire spread and costed over £1M worth of damage. The Caldwell precedent was applied by the crown court and by the court of appeal. However, a further appeal was allowed to the House of Lords. This changed the use of Caldwell.

Question 16

Latimer (1886)

Answer 16

The defendant aimed to hit a man with his belt. The belt recoiled and hit a woman in the face. As both offences were similar, as the defendant was found guilty of the offence against the woman.

Question 17

Thabo Meli (1954)

Answer 17

The defendant attacked a man and threw what they thought was his dead body over a cliff. In fact, he wasn’t dead at that point but subsequently died from exposure. The defendants were convicted of murder. The court decided that the actual reus and mens rea were combined in series.

Question 18

Church (1956)

Answer 18

The defendant took a woman back to his van to have sex. He couldn’t satisfy her and she laughed at him. A fight followed and the woman was knocked unconscious. Thinking she was dead, church threw her body in the river where she actually drowned. Church was convicted of manslaughter.

Question 19

Fagan V MPC (1086)

Answer 19

Fagan drove onto a policeman’s foot. Despite being asked by the policeman to remove his car several times, he refused. Fagan was convicted of assaulting a policeman in the execution of his duty. When Fagan knew the car was on the policeman’s foot the requisite mens rea was presented and the actus reus was still continuing.

Question 20

R V White (1910)

Answer 20

The defendant put poison into the evening drink of the victim, his mother with the intention of milling her. The victim drank a few sips of the drink and then fall asleep. She did not wake up, however the medical evidence was that she had died of a heart attack father than as a result of the poison. The defendant also gave evidence that he had not intended to kill her by a single dose but had planned to deliver multiple doses over a long period of time. The defendant was convicted of attempted murder.

Question 21

R V Padgett (1983)

Answer 21

The appellant shot at a police officer who was trying to arrest him, and subsequently attempted to use a pregnant teenage girl standing near by as a human shield to defend himself against retaliation by the officer. The officer returned fire, killing the girl.

Question 22

R V Kinsey (1996)

Answer 22

D was involved in a high speed car choice with a friend. She lost control of her car and the other driver was killed in the crash. The evidence about what happened immediately before D lost control was not very clear. The trial judge directed the jury that D’s driving did not have to be the principle, or the substantial cause of death, as long as you are sure that it was a cause and there must be something more than a slight, trifling link’. The COA upheld D’s conviction for causing death by dangerous driving.

Question 23

R V Blaue (1975)

Answer 23

The defendant stabbed a woman who was a Jehovah’s witness. As a result of her beliefs she refused a blood transfusion which would have saved her life. The defendant argued that he should not be responsible for her death as the transfusion could have saved her life and she refused it. The court disagreed and said he must take his victims as he finds them.

Question 24

R V Smith (1959)

Answer 24

The defendant was a solider who stabbed one of his comrades during a fight in an army barracks. The victim was taken to receive medical attention, but whilst being carried to the hospital was dropped twice by those carrying him. Once at the hospital, he received negligent medical treatment; the medics failed to diagnose a puncture to his lung. The victim died of his injuries, and the defendant was charged with murder and convicted at first instance. The defendant appealed on the basis that the victim would have survived but for the negligence of those treating him. He also argued that his confession had been obtained under duress and was therefore inadmissible.

Question 25

R V Robert’s (1959) (a victims own act)

Answer 25

After a party the male defendant R, gave the female victim and the defendant had not met before, the defendant began making sexual advances towards the victim which were rejected before attempting to pull off her coat. The victim then opened the door and jumped out of the moving vehicle sustaining injuries as a result. The defendant was charged with sexual assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Question 26

R V Williams (1992)

Answer 26

The defendants picked up a hitchhiker who was on his way to Glastonbury festival. The defendants then attempted to rob the victim who became agitated and afraid and in this mental state jumped out of the moving vehicle which was travelling at 30 mph. The victim hit his head and died of his injuries. The defendants were charged with manslaughter. What had happened in the car to cause the victim to jump out was not certain.