Elements of a crime (RED BOOKLET) Flashcards
Define the term ‘actus reus’
Prohibited act
Name the 3 ways that the actus reus can be committed
1) By an act
2) By an omission
3) By a state of affairs
What type of conduct must the defendant have in order to be criminally liable? (in terms of an act)
Voluntary
What is the leading case that outlines the actus reus being committed by an act?
Hill V Baxter
What were the 3 examples identified in the case of Hill V Baxter of involuntary conduct?
1) Being stung by bees while driving and losing control
2) Being hit on head by stone
3) Having a heart attack or epileptic fit
What is an omission?
A failure to act
What is the general rule on omissions?
That you don’t have to endanger yourself to save someone else
What is the exception to the rule on omissions?
A person is only liable if they have a duty to act and fail to do so
Name the 5 types of duty (omissions)
Contractual, Relationship, Voluntarily assuming responsibility, Public office, creating a dangerous situation
What is the case that outlines contractual duty?
R v Pittwood
What are the brief case facts of R v Pittwood?
D worked for the railway and a man was killed on the railway line due to D failing to close the gate
What is the case for duty through relationship?
R v Gibbons and Proctor
What are the brief case facts for R v Gibbons and Proctor?
A father and his partner starved his child to death as they failed to feed her
What is the case for voluntarily assuming responsibility?
R v Stone and Dobinson
What are the brief case facts for R v Stone and Dobinson?
D and his girlfriend took responsibility to care for his elderly sister, they then failed to care for her and she died of neglect.
What is the case for duty through public office?
R v Dytham
What are the brief case facts of R v Dytham?
D was a policeman and watched a fight take place and a man was kicked to death
What is the case for creating a dangerous situation?
R v Miller
What are the brief case facts for R v Miller?
A man dropped a lit cigarette and started a fire and a house burned down
What is another possible case for creating a dangerous situation?
DDP v Santana Bermudez
Describe the brief case facts of DDP v Santana Bermudez
D didn’t declare there was a used needle in his pocked which then harmed a police officer (D had HIV and hepatitis)
Explain what is meant by a state of affairs crime
Where D is guilty of a crime purely because a situation exists
What are state of affairs crimes also known as?
Circumstance crimes
What is the leading case for state of affairs crimes?
R v Larsonneur
Describe the brief case facts of R v Larsonneur
D was ordered to leave the UK so went to Ireland however was deported back to the UK and convicted of ‘being an alien to whom leave to land in the UK had been refused’
Some crimes require a particular consequence in order for the defendant to be found guilty, what must be proved by the prosecution in order to convict D of the crime?
It must be proved that D caused the consequence to the victim
What are the two types of causation?
Factual and Legal
What test is used to prove factual causation?
The ‘but for’ test
Explain the ‘but for’ test
It must be proved that the consequence to V would not have happened ‘but for’ D’s conduct
What is the leading case for factual causation?
R v Pagett
Describe the brief case facts of R v Pagett
D used his pregnant girlfriend as a human shield when engaging in a shoot out with police (which he started)
Was the defendant in R v Pagett found guilty for murder and why?
Yes because BUT FOR D using his girlfriend as a human shield, she wouldn’t have died
In the case of R v White, was D guilty of murder?
No because BUT FOR D ginning his mother cyanide, she still would’ve died
Name the test for legal causation
The ‘operative and substantial’ test
How does the ‘operative and substantial’ test work?
It must be proved that D’s conduct was the operative and substantial cause of the consequence to V
In order for D to be found guilty, what must remain unbroken between D’s conduct and the consequence suffered by V?
The chain of causation
What is the leading case for Legal Causation?
R v Smith
Describe the brief facts of R v Smith
D stabbed V in chest. Medic was busy and didn’t treat V for punctured lung and V died.
Why was D in R v Smith convicted of murder?
Because D stabbing V in the chest was still the operative and substantial cause of V’s death
What are events which take place between D’s conduct and the consequence known as? (in latin and english)
Novus Actus Interveniens - Intervening Acts
An intervening act will only break the chain of causation if it is…
1) Sufficiently independent of the defendant’s actions and
2) Sufficient enough to break the chain of causation
What 3 things are capable of breaking the chain of causation?
1) Actions of a third party
2) Victim’s own actions
3) Natural and unpredictable event (Acts of God)
What is the leading case in which the actions of a third party break the chain of causation?
R v Jordan
Describe the brief case facts of R v Jordan
D stabbed V. V was given antibiotics that he was allergic to and excess intravenous liquids. V developed pneumonia as a result and died.
Why was the defendant in R v Jordan found not guilty of murder?
Because the medical treatment was ‘palpably wrong’ and broke the chain of causation
What is the case whereby V’s own actions broke the chain of causation?
R v Williams
Describe the brief case facts of R v Williams
V jumped out of a moving car to prevent theft of Glastonbury tickets and died
Was D in R v Williams found guilty and why/why not?
No because V’s actions were unforeseeable and unreasonable and therefore broke the chain of causation
What is the case whereby V’s own actions didn’t break the chain of causation?
R v Roberts
Describe the brief case facts of R v Roberts
V jumped out of moving car to escape sexual assault and died
Was D found guilty in the case of R v Roberts and why?
Yes because it was reasonable and foreseeable that V would jump out of the car to escape the assault
In order for V’s actions to break the chain of causation they must be…
Unreasonable, unforeseeable and disproportionate
In order for a natural and unpredictable event to break the chain of causation, what must it be?
Independent from D’s conduct, serious enough to break the chain and unforeseeable
Give 2 examples of a natural and unpredictable event that could potentially break the chain of causation
Earthquake
Tsunami
Explain the thin skull rule
Any characteristic which makes V more vulnerable to D’s conduct will not break the chain of causation and D will still be liable for the consequence caused to V
What is the thin skull rule often described as?
‘Take your victim as you find him’
What is the leading case for the thin skull rule?
R v Blaue
Describe the brief case facts of R v Blaue
D stabbed V. V needed blood transfusion but refused on account of being a Jehovah’s Witness and died
Was D in R v Blaue found guilty and why/why not?
Yes because it was irrelevant that V was a Jehovah’s witness in accordance with the thin skull rule
Give 3 examples of conditions that the thin skull rule applies to
Haemophilia, Osteoporosis, Thin Skull
Translate the term ‘mens rea’
Guilty mind
Define the term ‘mens rea’
The intention to commit a crime. The state of mind when committing a crime.
What are the two main types of mens rea?
Intention and Recklessness
What are the two types of intention?
Direct and Indirect/Oblique
What is the test for direct intention?
It must be proved that D set out/aimed to bring about the prohibited consequence
What is the leading case for direct intention?
R v Mohan
Describe the brief facts of R v Mohan
Police officer stepped out into road in order to stop D’s car and D accelerated towards the police officer
What type of test is the test for direct intention?
Subjective
What factors in a crime would suggest that D has direct intention?
Use of a weapon, Racist attack, Homophobic attack, Premeditated, Sustained attack, Vulnerable areas of the body
What is the test for indirect intention?
1) That the prohibited consequence was a virtual certainty
2) D realised this
What is the leading case for indirect intention?
R v Woollin
Describe the brief facts of R v Woollin
D’s baby was crying, D lost his temper and threw his baby 5 feet in the direction of the pram, the baby hit the wall and died. D was charged with murder.
Was D in R v Woollin found guilty or not guilty and why?
Not guilty as he didn’t realise that throwing his baby was a virtual certainty of death and therefore didn’t have the mens rea of indirect intention so couldn’t be convicted
Is the test for indirect intention objective or subjective?
Both
Name a case whereby D’s were convicted of indirect intention
R v Matthews and Alleyne
Describe the brief case facts of R v Matthews and Alleyne
D’s threw V into a river at night knowing he couldn’t swim. V died.
What is the leading case for recklessness?
R v Cunningham
Describe the brief case facts of R v Cunningham
D rips gas meter off the wall to steal money. Gas leaks into neighbouring property and D poisons his future mother in law.
What is the test for recklessness?
Where D realises a risk but carries on regardless
Why was D acquitted in the case of R v Cunningham?
Because the defence proved that D didn’t realise the risk of pulling the gas meter off of the wall
Is the test for recklessness subjective or objective?
Subjective
Describe transferred malice
It’s where D has the mens rea of one particular crime and performs the actus reus of that same crime but in a different way (e.g. Different victim). The mens rea can be transferred to the actual victim and D will be found guilty
What is the leading case whereby transferred malice is successful?
R v Latimer
Describe the brief case facts of R v Latimer
D got into a fight in a pub and hit the man which bounces off the man and hits a woman in the face
Was D in R v Latimer convicted of battery and why?
Yes because he committed the actus reus and the mens rea can be transferred from the intended victim to the actual victim
What is the case whereby D couldn’t be convicted with transferred malice?
R v Pembliton
Describe the brief case facts of R v Pembliton
D was arguing with a group of people and throws a stone at them. He missed and hit a window instead.
Why couldn’t D in R v Pembliton be convicted of criminal damage?
Because he had the actus reus of criminal damage but the mens rea of battery (the mens rea cannot be transferred between crimes)
In what instance can transferred malice not be transferred?
From person to property and vice-versa
Describe the principle of coincidence
For d to be guilty the mens rea and actus reus must occur at the same time
Define single act transaction
If D possesses the MR of a crime before the AR happens they can be linked by extending the MR to meet the AR
What is the leading case for single act transactions?
R v Thabo Meli
Describe the case facts of R v Thabo Meli
D’s beat V with a baseball bat with an intention to kill, they threw his body off a cliff thinking he was dead but in fact D died 2 days later of exposure
When did the actus reus occur in the case of R v Thabo Meli?
2 days after the MR was possessed
What was the courts reasoning for convicting the D’s in the case of R v Thabo Meli?
Beating V with the intention of killing was a single series of events so therefore the MR was extended so that the AR and MR would coincide
Give the definition for continuing act
If the AR of a crime occurs before D has the MR of the crime then the AR can be extended to meet the MR
What is the leading case for continuing acts?
Fagan v Metropolitan Police Commissioner
Describe the brief case facts of Fagan V Metropolitan Police Commissioner
D accidentally drove his car onto a policeman’s foot. V shouted at D to move the car but D laughed and refused to move
Why was D in the case of Fagan v Metropolitan Police Commissioner convicted of ABH?
AR was continued to when D formed the MR of ABH so they therefore coincided so D could be convicted
What is a strict liability offence?
An offence that does not require mens rea, D can be convicted purely based on actus reus
What is the leading case for strict liability?
Callow v Tillstone
Outline brief case facts of Callow v Tillstone
D, a butcher was convicted of selling bad meat despite the meat being certified by a vet as safe
When will a judge use the Gammon rules?
When a statute is unclear where mens rea is concerned
What is rule 1 (gammon rules)?
Presumption of mens rea
What is a presumption of mens rea?
When a judge will presume that mens rea is still required in order for D to be found guilty
What is the leading case for presumption of mens rea?
Sweet v Parsley
Outline brief case facts of Sweet v Parsley
D was acquitted for ‘managing premises used for drug taking’ on the basis that she was unaware that students were using her farmhouse to smoke cannabis
What is rule 2a (gammon rules)?
If the statute relates to an issue of social concern then mens rea will not be required
What is the leading case for social concern? (strict liability)
Harrow LBC v Shah
What was the social concern in Harrow v Shah?
Underage gambling
Outline brief case facts of Harrow v Shah
D was convicted as an employee sold someone underaged a lottery ticket, despite D taking many precautions to prevent this from happening
What is rule 2b (gammon rules)?
A statute which concerns an issue of public safety will not require mens rea
What was the public safety in the case of Smedleys v Breed
Food hygeine
Outline brief case facts of Smedleys v Breed
A small caterpillar was found in one out of 3 million tins of peas, manufactured by D, D was convicted under food and drugs act 1955
What are the 3 reasons for strict liability?
Encourages high standards
Easier convictions
Small punishments
Give an explanation as to why strict liability encourages high standards
If D knows he will be convicted without mens rea then they will take more care
Give a case example where strict liability would encourage higher standards
Smedleys v Breed
Give an explanation as to why strict liability allows for easier convictions
As prosecution only have to prove actus reus so cases can be wrapped up quickly and thus is cheaper for the tax payer
Give a case example where strict liability allowed for an easy conviction
Harrow v Shah
Why are small punishments a reason for strict liability
Punishments are usually a small fine or revocation of D’s license and therefore making strict liability more justifiable to impose
Give a case example where strict liability resulted in a small punishment
Harrow v Shah
