Elements Of Crime

Question 1

What is law?

Answer 1

Law is a formal mechanism of social control and legal rules which are enforced by the state.

Question 2

How are norms of behaviour enforced?

Answer 2

Through attitudes of community and self-guilt

Question 3

What is common law?

Answer 3

Common law is developed from customs that had been commonly accepted and developed by the decisions of judges e.g. murder. These decisions are also known as precedents.

Question 4

What is statue law?

Answer 4

Statute laws are made by parliament (Acts of Parliament)

Question 5

What are procedural laws?

Answer 5

Procedural laws prescribe the framework in which laws are made and enforced e.g. PACE 1984

Question 6

What are substantive laws?

Answer 6

Substantive laws create and define legal rights and obligations e.g. the law on criminal offences

Question 7

What are public laws?

Answer 7

Public laws govern the relationship between the state and its citizens e.g procedural laws defining the powers of parliament

Question 8

What are private laws?

Answer 8

Private laws create rights enforceable between individuals e.g. trespassers

Question 9

What are the principles of criminal law?

Answer 9

Criminal law sets out the types of behaviour which are forbidden by risk of punishment. The person who commits the crime has said to have offended against the state therefore the state has the right to prosecute. A criminal prosecution is usually brought by the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service)

Question 10

Who has the burden of proof in a criminal case?

Answer 10

The burden of proof falls to whoever has brought the case as they must prove D to be guilty.

Question 11

What must the standard of proof be in a criminal case?

Answer 11

In criminal law the standard of proof is ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’ and they must be 99.9% certain that D is guilty.

Question 12

What are the main courts hearing criminal cases?

Answer 12

Magistrates’ court, Crown court

Question 13

Who makes the decisions in a criminal case?

Answer 13

The magistrates in the magistrates court, and a judge and jury in crown court.

Question 14

What are the decision that can be made in a criminal case?

Answer 14

Guilty (convicted), or not guilty (acquitted)

Question 15

What are the powers of court?

Answer 15

A sentence e.g. prison, community order, fine, or driving ban

Question 16

What is the actus reus of a crime?

Answer 16

The actus reus is the physical element of the crime, the wrongful act, or the failure to act (omission)

Question 17

What is an omission?

Answer 17

An omission is the failure to act

Question 18

Will an omission carry criminal liability or not?

Answer 18

No an omission will not carry criminal liability

Question 19

Who stated the exception for when an omission can carry criminal liability?

Answer 19

Stephen J in the 19th century said; “the exception to this rule is where the defendant has a duty to act. In this instance if the defendant faults to act, their failure will amount to the actus reus of a crime.

Question 20

What are the 5 common law situations where there is a duty to act?

Answer 20

• A contractual duty (Pittwood)
• A duty because of a relationship (Gibbins & Proctor)
• A duty taken on voluntarily (Stone & Dobinson)
• A duty through one’s official position (Dytham)
• A duty from the creation of a danger (Miller)

Question 21

What happened in the case of Pittwood and what does it show?

Answer 21

(Shows contractual duty) where a railway crossing keeper failed to shut the gate under his contract

Question 22

What happened in the case of Gibbins & Proctor and what does it show?

Answer 22

(Shows a duty because of a relationship) where D and his mistress failed to feed and look after a baby

Question 23

What happened in the case of Stone & Dobinson and what does it show?

Answer 23

(Shows a duty taken on voluntarily) where the defendants failed to look after an elderly sister after they volunteered to

Question 24

What happened in the case of Dytham and what does it show?

Answer 24

(Shows a duty taken on through one’s official position) where a police officer failed to act whilst witnessing an assault

Question 25

What happened in the case of Miller and what does it show?

Answer 25

(Shows a duty from the creation of danger) where D had a duty to act and he failed to summon help when when he started the fire

Question 26

What case shows that the actus reus must be voluntary?

Answer 26

Hill v Baxter

Question 27

What is causation?

Answer 27

Causation is what links D’s actions to the resulting consequences

Question 28

What is causation in fact and what test does it use?

Answer 28

Causation in fact uses the “but for” test, i.e. “but for” D’s actions would the resulting consequence/injury have occurred?

Question 29

What case is used to illustrate causation in fact?

Answer 29

The case of Pagett illustrates the test as, “but for” D using his pregnant girlfriend as a gun shield in a police shootout, she would not have died

Question 30

What is causation in law?

Answer 30

Causation in law asks the question, whether D’s actions were the most significant cause of V’s injury or was there an intervening act that breaks the chain of causation.

Question 31

What case shows causation in law?

Answer 31

Jordan

Question 32

What are the three ways a chain of causation can be broken with case examples?

Answer 32

1) Acts of a third party (Pagett)
2) Medical treatments (Jordan/Cheshire)
3) V’s own actions (Roberts/Williams)

Question 33

How would a third party break the chain of causation?

Answer 33

A third party will potentially break the chain of causation if their actions are unforeseeable/unlikely event (Pagett)

Question 34

How would a medical treatment break the chain of causation?

Answer 34

The general rule for medical treatment is that poor medicinal treatment will not break the chain of causation unless in itself ‘is so potent in death/injury that it seems D’s actions insignificant’ (Jordan/Cheshire)

Question 35

How would the victims own actions break the chain in causation?

Answer 35

The victims own actions break the causation if they act in an unreasonable/unforeseeable manner (Williams/Roberts)

Question 36

What is the thin skull rule?

Answer 36

The ‘thin skull rule’ applies in relation to causation in law, i.e. ‘D must take their victim as they find them,’ a weakness in V’s health will not break the chain of causation (Blaue)

Question 37

What is the mens rea?

Answer 37

The mental element of a crime

Question 38

What are the two levels of men’s rea?

Answer 38

1) Intention
2) Subjective recklessness

Question 39

What is intention?

Answer 39

Intention can either be direct or oblique. Direct intention is someone’s main aim or purpose (Mohan) and when this is not clear, the courts refer to oblique intention (only in specific intent crimes) (Woolin)

Question 40

What is subjective recklessness?

Answer 40

It’s defined as taking an unjustified risk. Recklessness is judged subjectively. Therefore we ask the question, ‘did D realise the risk and decide to take that risk anyway’. (Cunningham)

Question 41

What is the test for oblique intention and who defined it?

Answer 41

The case of Woolin defines the test for oblique intention as ‘Did D foresee the consequence as a virtual certainty?’

Question 42

What is a specific intent crime?

Answer 42

an offence in which the prosecution must prove that the defendant had a specific intention or purpose when committing the actus reus (the guilty act) of the offence.

Question 43

What is transferred malice?

Answer 43

Where D’s men’s tea is transferred from their intended victim to their actual victim (Latimer/Pembliton). However this is only possible if the intended offence and actual offence is the same

Question 44

What is a strict liability offence?

Answer 44

Strict liability offences only require that D commits the actus reus and no mens rea is needed (R v Prince)

Question 45

What are some examples of strict liability offences?

Answer 45

Speeding, parking fines, minor motoring offences

Question 46

What are 4 justifications for strict liability?

Answer 46

1) It’s only minor offences
2) Important to protect society as it promotes careful behaviour
3) No social stigma attached to the crime
4) Easier to prove and force which then saves court time and money

Question 47

What are 4 arguments against strict liability?

Answer 47

1) Unfair-liability should not be imposed on those who are blameless
2) Those who have taken all possible care should not be penalised
3) There is no evidence that improves standards
4) Its contrary to principles of human rights

Question 48

What is the coincidence of AR & MR (contemporaneity rule)?

Answer 48

Contemporaneity means ‘at the same time’. If the actus reus and men’s rea do not coincide, then no crime has been committed. However judges have developed an air of flexibility in the interests of justice.

Question 49

What happened in the case of Fagan (1969)?

Answer 49

D accidentally drove his car on a police officers foot and was asked to move (he had the actus reus but no mens rea). He then refused to move the car. So he formed the intention and the mens Rea of the crime. The AR and MR occurred at the same time so he was guilty.

Question 50

What happened in the case of Thabo (1954)?

Answer 50

The court held that D was guilty of murder as his men’s Rea continued through the whole sequence of events including the original blows and throwing off a cliff until the resulting event of the victims death.

Question 51

What happened in R v Church (1965)?

Answer 51

D knocked V unconscious during a fight. After trying to wake them for 30 minutes, they believed they were dead and threw their body into a river. Medical evidence revealed the cause of death was drowning.