General Elements of Liability Flashcards
What is mens rea?
“guilty mind’ - the mindset/thoughts/intention itself
What is an omission
A failure to act (a negative act)
Give an example of conduct crimes
Driving a vehicle dangerously
Theft
Driving without a licence
‘Breaking and Entering’
Trespassing
What is factual causation and how is it used?
Process of establishing whether a specific action directly caused a particular outcome. Uses the ‘But for” test.
What is a conduct crime?
The act itself is a crime - the actus reus requires proof of a particular behaviour/conduct. There is no requirement to prove harmful consequences.
What happened in R v Pagett
The defendant used his pregnant girlfriend as a shield from incoming bullets, and she had died. He was found guilty using causation in fact
What is a state of affairs crime?
Offences that criminalises a defendant being found in a particular circumstances at a particular time, irrelevant of how they got there
Give a case for the coincidence of actus reus and mens rea and outline the case facts
Fagan v MPC:
Defendant reversed his car, but rolled it onto the foot of the PO, who told Fagan to remove his care, which at this point, the defendant refused to move the vehicle.
Define negligence
A breach of an objective standard of behaviour expected of a defendant
What is a result/consequence crime
A crime which causes/results in specified consequences
What is actus reus?
‘guilty act’ - the action itself
Give an example of a result/consequence crime
Murder
GNM
Assault
Battery
ABH
Manslaughter
Criminal Damage
Cases that outline subjective recklessness
R v Cunningham
DPP v Majewski
R v Latimer
R v Woolin
How do you establish liability for a result/consequence crime?
Factual causation
Legal causation
What are the two cases for factual causation
White
Pagett
What is a strict liability offence?
The prosecution is not required to prove mens rea for one or more elements of the offence.
Give a case to explain the involuntary nature of certain acts that do not lead to liability
Hill v Baxter
What is transferred malice, give a case for this concept
Where the mens rea of a crime can be transferred to an unintended victim. R v Latimer (1886) - D aimed his belt at his intended victim, but the belt ricocheted off and hit a woman in the face; in this case, the mens rea he had to cause harm to the man was transferred to the woman
How does an involuntary act lead to no conviction of the specified offence that was resulted?
There is no mens rea for the offence, thus no intention to commit - no ‘guilty mind’.
What happened in R v White (1910)
The defendant was not guilty of the murder of his mother by the poisoning of her drink, she had not ingested the poison and had died of a heart attack beforehand - found not guilty using causation in fact
Give an example of a state of affairs crime
Being drunk on a public highway
Possessing illegal drugs or firearms
Being present in a prohibited area
What is the coincidence of actus reus and mens rea?
A principle where the actus reus and mens rea must coincide - they must happen at the same time for someone to be held liable
Define subjective recklessness
The taking of an unjustified risk that leads to unlawful harm or damage
Define legal causation
The defendant’s act must be an operative and substantial cause of the consequence. In other words, there should be a ‘slight, trifling link’ (Kimsey)
Cases for legal causation
‘The act must be more than minimal (Cato), but needn’t be substantial (Kimsey)’
What is the thin skull rule?
The defendant must take their victim as they find them. In other words, evidence for liability would be stronger if the victim has a condition that made the offence much worse.
Case for the thin skull rule
R v Blaue:
The defendant entered the home of an 18-year-old girl, and had taken advances at her. When she refused, he stabbed her 4 times, and needed a blood transfusion to save her life. However, she was a devout Jehovah’s Witness, and, thus refused the operation based on her religious requirement, and the defendant was found guilty of murder, even if she would’ve survived had she taken the blood.
What is a novus actus interveniens?
A break in the chain of causation. Essentially, an intervening act that had seperated the act of the defendant to the result of the victim
Cases for novus actus interveniens
Cheshire, chain of causation had broken
Jordan, chain of causation had broken
Smith, chain of causation did not break
Roberts, chain of causation had broken
What are the 6 omissions as actus reus
- A statutory Duty
- A contractual Duty
- A duty arising because of a relationship
- A duty that has been taken voluntarily
- A duty through one’s official position
- A duty arises because D has set in motion a chain of events
Give an example of omission of statutory duty
Failing to stop at a traffic light
Failure to report a road traffic incident
Failure to provide a specimen of breath
Give an example of a contractual duty
R v Pittwood:
A railway crossing keeper failed to shut the gates of the crossing, killing a person crossing the line when a train was due (manslaughter)
Give an example of a duty because of a relationship
Gibbons and Proctor:
Neglecting their duties as parents; the omission not to feed the child was the AR for murder
Give an example for a duty which has been taken on voluntarily
Stone and Dobinson:
Elder sister who had mental problems was being taken care of by Ds, but she died from malnutrition. They owed a duty of care to her as they brought her in (convicted of manslaughter)
Give an example of a duty through one’s official position
Dytham:
PO witnessed a violent attack on a victim but did not help, so was guilty of neglecting to perform his duty.
Give an example of a duty which arises because D set in motion a chain of events
Miller:
D fell asleep whilst smoking, woke up and found his mattress of fire. He did not attempt to put out the fire or summon help so as a result, the house caught fire (Convicted of Arson).
