Insanity and Automatism Flashcards
What act does Insanity come from?
Criminal Procedure (Insanity and Unfitness to Plead) Act 1991
What is the sentence if the act is murder but ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’?
Hospital order
What are the potential sentences for anything other than murder?
- Hospital order
- Guardianship order
- Supervision and treatment order
- Absolute discharge
Under what act does it state that the question of fitness to plead is to be left to the judge alone?
Domestic Violence and Victims Act 2004
What case laid down the 3 points of insanity?
M’naghten
What are the 3 points from M’naghten?
- Defect of reason
- Disease of the mind
- He did not know the nature/quality of the act and he did not know that what he was doing was wrong in law
What is a defect of reason?
Being deprived of the power to reason, rather than just failing to use it
What is the case for defect of reason?
R vs Clarke
What is the POL from R vs Clarke?
She retained her ordinary powers of reason but momentarily acted as she didn’t by failing to concentrate properly = no defect of reason and no insanity
What type of definition is the disease of the mind?
Legal definition and not a medical one
What is the POL from R vs Kemp?
The cause of the disease of the mind has to be internal (arteriosclerosis)
What is the POL from R vs Sullivan?
Epilepsy is a disease of the mind as mental faculties could be impaired to cause a defect of reason during a fit
What is the POL from R vs Burgess?
Sleepwalking is a disease of the mind as it is an internal cause of a defect of reason
What is the POL from R vs Quick?
He took insulin to help with his diabetes but as insulin was taken, it was held that the cause was external
What is the POL from R vs Hennessey?
Unlike Quick, he didn’t take his normal dose of insulin so the cause was internal
What is the POL from R vs Coley, McGhee and Harris under the disease of the mind?
The cause was the smoking of cannabis and not D’s physiological make-up so was a case of voluntary intoxication not insanity
What is the POL from R vs Coley, McGhee and Harris under the nature/quality of the act?
He knew what he was doing as he removed important documents before starting the fire
What is the POL from R vs Johnson?
He knew it was legally wrong but thought he had a moral right to kill the victim so there was no insanity as he knew what he was doing was wrong in some manner
What is the POL from R vs Keal?
He knew it was morally wrong but thought he had a legal right for the attempted murders so there was no insanity as he knew what he was doing was wrong in some manner
What is the main case that lays out automatism?
Bratty vs A-G of Northern Ireland
What is Lord Denning’s quote from Bratty vs A-G of Northern Ireland
Automatism means an act which is done by the muscles without any control by the mind such as a spasm, a reflex action or a convulsion; or an act done by a person who is not conscious of what he is doing such as an act done whilst suffering from concussion or whilst sleepwalking
What are some examples of an external cause due to Lord Denning’s quote?
Severe blows to the head, hypnotism, anesthetic, swarm of bees
What other state can be classed as automatism in some cases?
A dissociative state caused by an extraordinary event
What is the POL from R vs T?
She was raped 3 day prior to the offence and was suffering from PTSD which put her into a dissociative state = automatism
What is the POL from Broome vs Perkins?
Was in a hypoglycemic state and hit a car whilst driving home: held that he has some voluntary control over his movements and was not acting in an entirely involuntary manner so was not automatism
What is the POL from Attorney-General’s Reference (No.2 of 1992)?
He was put into a trance-like state due to the repetitive view of the motorway but his awareness was not fully eliminated so there was no automatism
What is self-induced automatism?
If the automatism was caused by the defendant (drugs/alcohol) then the defence will not be available
When may self-induced automatism still amount to a defence?
If the automatism was brought about another way then it may still be used depending on whether the defendant knew there was a risk
What is the POL from R vs Bailey?
Failing to eat properly whilst diabetic is clearly reckless and carries an obvious risk so self-induced automatism was held and he couldn’t access the defence
What is the POL from R vs Coley, McGhee and Harris under self-induced automatism?
Automatism is not available to D who has induced an acute state of involuntary behaviour by his own fault (consuming drugs or alcohol).
What is the POL from R vs Hardie ?
He did not understand the effects of the drug and was not seen as reckless so could rely on the defence. May not hold up in today’s courts and may be seen as reckless now
