Elements Of Criminal Liability-MR

Question 1

R V Mohan

Answer 1

• direct intent
• D’s aim, purpose and desire
• D was driving and responded to a police officers signal. He slowed then accelerated towards him
• decision to bring about the prohibited consequence

Question 2

Nedrick

Answer 2

-oblique intent / indirect intent
- D threw paraffin through a letterbox to scare the woman who lived there but a child died as a result
- virtual certainty test:
* Do the jury feel that death or serious injury was the virtual certainty result of the D’s voluntary act ?
* Did the D foresee that death or serious injury was the virtual certain result of his act?
If both parts answer ‘yes’- the jury can reasonably infer that the D intended the consequences of his act

Question 3

Woollin

Answer 3

• oblique intent/ indirect intent
• D was feeding his 3 month old baby and when the baby choked, D lost his temper and threw the baby to the pram. The baby hit the wall and die from head injuries.
• word ‘ infer’ from Nedrick was changed to ‘ must find’

Question 4

R V Cunningham

Answer 4

• recklessness
  D tried to take gas meter as he wanted the money the gas leaked and killed the woman living next to it
• he did not know the gas line was connected to the money box and that it would leak
• not reckless

Question 5

Adomako

Answer 5

• negligence
• anaesthetist failed to notice the tube allowing the V to breath had become disconnected

Question 6

Pharmaceutical society of Great Britain V Storkwain

Answer 6

• strict liability
• no MR but D must have relevant AR and it must be voluntary
• D supplied drugs without prescription

Question 7

Mitchell

Answer 7

• transferred malice
• D was involved in an argument while in a queue and pushed an elderly man who fell into an elderly woman, who later dies in hospital from the injures.
• Although there was no direct contact between D and V, she was injured as a direct result of his act so the men’s rea transferred to the actual V