Omissions Flashcards
What happened in the case of Larsonneur?
Defendant was deported from uk to Ireland but she was sent back to the uk against her will. She was found to be breaking immigration laws even though she didn’t want to be.
What is an omission?
A failure to act
When can someone be guilty of an omission
If a defendant is under a duty to act in a situation
What is omission caused by a duty arising from a contract?
Where someone’s contractual job description means they have to act
What happened in the case of Pittwood?
People on a haycart died when a man hadn’t shut the train crossing gate. He was guilty because he had a duty to close the gate
What is a duty arising from a statute?
Where a statute says that anyone has a contractual duty to act in a particular circumstance
What is a state of affairs crime?
A crime where the defendant needs no mens rea in order to be guilty
What does “a duty arising from a special relationship” mean
Where someone has a position to look after someone else because they are family married etc
What happened in the case of “Downes”?
A cult believed in the benefits of prayer over medicine. A child member died as a result of this belief and the parents were guilty of manslaughter by omission.
What happened in the case of “Gobbins and Proctor”?
Parents deliberately starved their daughter. Guilty of murder by omission because they had a right of care
What is a “Voluntary assumption of duty of care”?
Where someone else takes responsibility for someone for a short period of time
What happened in “Stone and Dobinson”?
Stone and his girlfriend looked after his sister. They neglected her and were guilty of manslaughter by omission because they owed a voluntary of care.
What happened in the case of “Khan”?
Drug dealers were not under a duty to get medical help for their clients. Not guilty of manslaughter by omission because there was no voluntary duty of care.
What is “a duty arising from a duty to act”?
Where someone is under a duty to act in a situation because they are a policeman etc
What happened in the case of “Dytham”?
A police officer on duty committed an offence when he failed to intervene when a man was beaten to death
What happened in the case of “Evans”?
A mother failed to get help after her daughter had an overdose. She was guilty of manslaughter by omission because she had a duty to care
What is “a duty arising from the creation of a dangerous situation”?
Where you have a duty to minimise risks you’ve created
What happened in the case of “Miller”?
Someone squatting in a flat set a mattress on fire and caused a lot of damage. Guilty of criminal damage by omission as he had a duty to minimise the risk
What happened in the case of “Santana-Bermudez”?
Defendant didn’t tell a police officer that he had sharps in his pocket. Defendant was guilty of ABH as he failed to minimise the harm caused by his omission
What is a continuing act?
Where the actus reus and the mens rea must coincide but the prosecution can imply that the actus reus may be ongoing.
What happened in “Airdale NHS v Bland”?
Doctors who wanted to turn off a patient’s oxygen supply weren’t guilty of a crime because it was in his best interests.
What Omissions case could be associated with the phrase “this mattress is hot”?
Miller
What Omissions case could be associated with the phrase “Annoying children get no food”?
Gobbins and Proctor
What Omissions case could be associated with the phrase “Fanny has been very quiet recently”?
Stone and Dobinson
What Omissions case could be associated with the phrase “just because I sold you drugs doesn’t mean I have to look after you”?
Khan
What Omissions case could be associated with the phrase “Shut the gate, the train is coming”?
Pittwood
What Omissions case could be associated with the phrase “Ouch there was a needle in there”?
Santana Bermudez
What Omissions case could be associated with the phrase “I’ll look the other day so that man can be kicked”
Dytham
What Omissions case could be associated with the phrase “But I don’t want to be in England - your food is terrible”
Larsonneur
