Paper 1 Section B Flashcards
What does actus reus mean
This means the guilty act
(Physical part of crime)
What is an involuntary act
An act which is done by the muscles without any control of the mind
What is omission
Failing to act/not acting when you are responsible to do so
What is the general rule with responsibility
You are not responsible for a failure to act
What is the exception to the general rule
A person is only liable for an omission if they have a duty to act and they fail to do so
What does the word duty mean
An obligation/responsibility
What is the but for test
But for is proves that without defendants conduct the consequences wouldn’t have happened
What is factual causation
But for test must prove without defendant consequence to victim wouldn’t have happened
Describe the R V PAGETT case
Defendant kidnapped girlfriend
Ended up in stand off with police
Defendant used victim as human shield and shot at police
Police returned fire and killed victim
What is the name for legal causation test
Operative and substantial test
Describe the operative and substantial test
Was defendants conduct significant cause of consequence to victim
What is the legal causation test trying to look at
A significant cause
Describe R V Smith
D and V were soldiers that got in a fight
D stabbed V with a bayonet and punctured V lung
Medics where called to the scene and didn’t know what lung was punctured
They saw V struggling to breathe so they performed artificial respiration
This tore V lung and they died
Describe the chain of causation
In order for D to be a operative and substantial cause an unbroken chain of events must be established from defendants conduct to the consequence
When will intervening acts break the chain of causation
If it is unreasonable
If it is unforseable
