Strict Liability Flashcards
When does strict liability arise?
When a statute is silent on MR
R v Strawbridge
Facts:
- Accused cultivated a canabis plant
- thought they were mustard seeds
Test:
- MR will be presumed to exist due to the presence of AR
- Open to the defendant to provide some evidence that raises reasonable doubt of MR
- Prosecution then must dispel the reasonable doubt or the defendant is aquitted
Is Strawbridge still the NZ approach?
No
When would you apply Strawbridge?
Only ever in an analgous case
How many classes of offences are there?
3
What are the classes of offences?
Class 1
- Full Mens Rea Offences
Class 2
- Strict Liability Offences
Class 3
- Absolute Liability Offences
What are some common law features of PWOs?
- very little stigma attached
- No imprisonment
- Punishable by fine
- Bad because it is prohibited but not morally wrong
What are some features of PWOs generally?
Deal with matters of public welfar:
- Public safety
- Transportation safety
- Public health; worker safety
- Environmental protection
- Resource management
- Species conservation
- Animal welfare
- Taxation or other revenue sources
- Customs or trade regulation
Examples of PWOs?
- Traffic offences
- Community bylaws
- Environmental regulations
- Food, drink, and drug safety rules
Police v Creedon
Facts:
- failure to give way to cyclist
- view was blocked
Held:
- Creedon not liable
- The regulation in question should not be an absolute liability offence, because it does not impose an unvarying obligation on the driver
- Strawbridge inappropriate for quasi-criminal offences
- The appropriate qualification here is “absence of fault”
- Mens Rea is not irrelevant in quasi-criminal offences
Ministry of Transport v Bernet Motors
Facts:
- Truck carrying livestock driving through Timaru
- went u steep streets spilling excrement
Held:
- Notes the Sault Ste Marie case
- Does not adopt yet
Civil Aviation Department v MacKenzie
Facts:
- Pilot clipped power line
Held:
- formal adoption of Sault Ste Marie classifications into NZ law
- Here, did not have MR and was an honest, reasonable mistake
Which case adopts Sault Ste Marie into NZ law?
Civil Aviation Department v MacKenzie
How is the legal burden imposed on the defendant justified in MacKenzie?
- not truly criminal situations
- accused know best what they did
- beneficial to accused
What is the process for proving class 2 offences?
