General Flashcards
What are the two main purposes of law enforcement?
To prevent crime
Bring offenders to justice
What separates criminal law from other types of law?
The prospect if punishment
How are offences triable?
Summarily
On indictment
What are the 3 elements in crime?
Actus reus
Mens rea
Defences
What are the two types is defences?
Excusatory
Justificatory
What does actus reus consist of?
Conduct
The conduct to be wrongful
Result (if necessary)
What makes an act an act?
Bodily movement
Voluntarily
What happened in the case of R v Larsonneur 1933?
A French subject was granted leave to land in the UK and subsequently had this revoked. She went to the Irish free state and was sent back to the uk where she was arrested as an alien under the Aliens Order 1920, as amended. Appeal was dismissed
Who was the judge in R v Larsonneur 1933?
What did he say?
Lord Hewart
That circumstances by which ms Larsonneur found herself in England were perfectly immaterial.
What happened in the case of Woolmington v DPP 1935 AC?
A 21 year old farm labourer shit his wife in heart. He claimed it was accidental. The trial judge ruled that the evidence was so strong against Woolmington that the onus was in him to prove it was an accident. He was found guilty of murder
Was the appeal in Woolmington v DPP 1935 successful?
The appeal to the criminal court if appeal was unsuccessful
The appeal to the House of Lords was successful
What happened in Bratty v Attorney General for Northern Ireland 1961?
The defendant killed a girl by strangling her with her stockings. He claimed he didn’t know what he had done that a ‘blackness had come over him’
The trial judge removed the defence of automatism from the jury and left them the defence of insanity.
Court if appeal upheld decision
What was established in Woolmington v DPP 1935?
When dealing with a murder case the crown prosecution must prove
A) death as a result of a voluntary act
B) malice of the accused
In what case did Lord Denning say ‘no act is punishable…’?
Bratty v attorney general for Northern Ireland 1961
What happened in NHS trust v bland 1993?
The patient was in a persistent vegetative state for 3 years. Life support was requested to be ended. Lord Goff confirmed this action was an omission not a positive act of killing
What year was Airedale NHS trust v Bland?
1993
What happened in Miller 1983?
The defendant who was squatting fell asleep without putting out his cigarette. He moved rooms instead of putting out the fire.
What happened in R v Byrne 1960?
The appellant strangled a girl and mutilated her dead body. The defence of diminished responsibility was not afforded and he was charged of murder. The court of appeal allowed the appeal on the grounds that his circumstances met the criteria for diminished responsibility.
What happened in R v White?
The defendant poisoned his mother with cyanide, however she was declared dead due to heart failure. He was found guilty of attempted murder
What issue is raised in R v White?
Completion
attempted completion
What happened in R v Morby?
The father did not seek medical attention for his child who had small pox due to religious beliefs. There was no evidence however that this caused the death. Acquitted
What happened in R v Dalloway?
A child ran infront of a car and was killed. No manslaughter charge. Holding the reins would have made no difference
What was said in smith?
Only if the second cause is so overwhelming as to make the original wound merely part if the history can it be said that death does not flow from the wound
What happened in R v Woollin? 1988
The father of a child threw it against a hard surface and suffered a fractured skull and died. Intention was said to be possible through virtual certainty of what the consequence would be
What happened in R v Vickers?
A burglar hit and killed an elderly woman. Was found guilty of murder
What happened in R v Hyam?
The defendant intending to frighten her ex partner and his fiancé, set fire to their house by putting petrol through the letter box. Two daughters of the woman were killed. D found guilty of murder
Was the appeal in Hyam successful? Why?
The appeal was dismissed on the grounds that it was not necessary for the death or grievous bodily harm be foreseen as certain as long as it was highly probable.
What section of what act did Hyam use in her defence?
Section 8a of the criminal justice Act 1967
What are the parts of constructive manslaughter?
Elements of the offence
Likelihood of harm
Casual connection between act and death
What happened in r v church?
The appellant struck the victim knocking her out, believing she was dead he threw her into a river where she drowned.
What is required for liability in negligence?
Risk of death
What happened in kaitamaki?
The defendant continued having sex with a girl after when he realised she no longer consented.
What happened in Dica?
The defendant had sex with the victim and did not inform her he was HIV positive.
What was the decision in Dica?
That serious bodily harm included a serious sexually transmitted disease. No requirement it is delivered by force as in Clarence.
What happened in Clarence?
A husband gave his wife gonorrhoea
What was held in Clarence?
He had not inflicted GBH because the sex was consensual. He had caused it
What happened in r v Ireland?
Defendant called and was silent breathed heavily. Found guilt of assault. S47
What happened in dudgeon v uk?
The defendant claimed his rights had been breached under article 8 of the humans rights act. A gay man who claimed distress by the anti gay laws an Northern Ireland and an investigation carried out
What happened in Fairclough v Whipp?
A 9 year old girl was invited to touch the defendants penis. Found not guilty of indecent assault. Consent was said only to apply where an assault was present.
What happened in r v Pagett?
The defendant used the victim as a human shield resulting in her death. The court ruled that his actions constituted the actus reus of manslaughter
What happened in r v Cheshire?
The defendant shot v who suffered respiratory problems and died due to a complication if the tracheotomy. Found guilty of murder. Medical parties must be reckless not negligence to break chain of causation
What happened in R v Cunningham?
The defendant stole a gas meter. The leaking had endangered the life of the neighbours. His actions seen as reckless s23 OAPA
What happened in Caldwell?
The defendant set fire to a hotel while drunk. Criminal damage s1(1)
What happened in Fagan v MPC
The defendant refused to remove the car from a police officers foot. Battery. Mens rea coincides where the actus reus is a continuing act
What happened in Powell and Daniels?
The pair were buying marajuana and shot v dead. It was said that if one party realises and continues to participate mens rea is formed
What happened in DPP v smith?
The defendant after being told to pull over tried to escape from a polices officer who killed by incoming traffic trying to stop the defendant escaping. Guilty of murder. Immaterial what the accused contemplated
