Mens Rea Flashcards
What happened in the case of Fagan?
A man drove over a police officer’s foot by accident, but then turned his car off so it wouldn’t move. Mens Rea and actua Reus didn’t coincide. Was however decided to be a “continuing act”
What happened in the case of Thabo Meli?
D wanted to kill a man, so he beat him and threw him over a cliff thinking he was dead, but in reality he died from exposure. Where the men’s rea and actus Reus shouldn’t coincide, a continuing act was decided here
What happened in the case of church?
D had a fight with a woman and knocked her out. After not being able to bring her to for half an hour, he assumed she’d died and threw her in a river. She was in fact alive, but drowned. His conviction was for manslaughter as the actus Reus and mens rea didn’t coincide.
What happened in the case of Mitchell?
D tried to push into a que but an elderly man accosted him. D pushed the man into another woman who fell over and died as a result of her injuries. D was guilty of manslaughter.
What happened in the case of Latimer?
D aimed a blow with his belt at a man in a pub because that man had attacked him. The belt bounced off the man but struck a woman in the face. Guilty of assault by transferred malice.
What happened in the case of Pembliton?
D threw a stone intending to hit a person. The stone hit a window and it smashed, so the intention to hit people couldn’t be transferred to the broken window.
What happened in the case of Moloney?
D and his step father were having a race to see who was faster at loading and firing a shotgun. After the son fired it without looking it hit the step father. D was convicted of murder but his conviction was quashed on appeal.
What happened in the case of Hancock and Shankland?
The defendants were miners on strike who dropped a concrete block from a bridge onto the car of one of their coworkers to stop them going to work. The block smashed the windshield and killed the driver. Defendants were convicted of murder but quashed their convictions as they had no mens rea.
What happened in the case of Nedrick?
D held a grudge against a woman, so he poured petrol through her letterbox and set it alight. A child died in the fire. The defendant was convicted of mirder but their conviction was swapped to one of manslaughter
What happened in the case of woollin?
Defendant threw his baby into a pram, but they missed and they hit the wall instead. The court decided this must have been obviously foreseeable and found him guilty of murder.
What happened in the case of Cunningham?
D tore a gas meter from the wall of a house in order to steal the money inside. This caused gas to seep into the house next door and affect a woman inside. Not guilty of any crimes as he had no recklessness as he had no clue his would happen
What happened in the case of Lidar?
Defendant was charged with reckless manslaughter after dragging a man under the wheel of his car after someone in the passenger seat was holding onto someone after D drove away.
