laws Flashcards
what is a precedent?
Precedent, in law, a judgment or decision of a court that is cited in a subsequent dispute as an example or analogy to justify deciding a similar case or point of law in the same manner.
Give a example of precedent?
R v Woollin- where a man threw a baby to a hard surface because it cried and due to skull fracture it died.
Expands mens rea
what is mensrea
The intention or knowledge of wrongdoing that constitutes part of a crime, as opposed to the action or conduct of the accused.
what is oblique intent?
Oblique intent is where the defendant did not desire the consequences, but they knew they were certain to occur.
what is direct intent?
Direct intent is relatively straightforward and is linked to the defendant’s aim or purpose.
what was the outcome of r v woollin?
The jury had first decided that it was murder committed by the father but however a appeal was allowed for woollin.
what does binding precedent mean?
Binding precedent in English law. Judges are bound by the law of binding precedent in England and Wales and other common law jurisdictions.
what happened in woollens appeal?
Stare Decisis: ‘to stand by what is decided’ the judges were bound to follow the previous decisions ‘precedent’.
The judges realised that rigid adherence to precedent may lead to injustice in a particular case and also unduly restrict the proper development of the law.
what is Ratio Decedendi:
‘rationale behind decisions’
what does Ratio Decedendi mean
The principle accepted and applied by a court as the necessary grounds for its decision on the case before it.
The ratio decidendi is the essence of a judgement which is binding on future cases which are not distinguishable on their facts and which are being heard by a court lower in the hieararchy.
what does ratio decedent establish?
The essential elements of a judgment whereby binding precedent is created, and must therefore be followed by lower courts.
what does obrbiter dicta mean
“that which is said in passing,” an incidental statement. Specifically, in law, it refers to a passage in a judicial opinion which is not necessary for the decision of the case before the court. Such statements lack the force of precedent but may nevertheless be significant.
what does distinguishing precedent mean?
A method of departing from a previous decision because the material facts in the two cases (one precedent case and one being current case) are different.
Change due to time and now our thinking Is more modern.
what is a case laW?
A case that changes the law
