Substantive Content Flashcards
What is an act?
a positive act (e.g. pointing and firing a gun)
What is an omission?
a failure to act when you have a duty to act (e.g. failing to care for your child resulting in harm)
What is the general rule for omissions?
No liability for failing to act unless under a duty of care to act.
- other countries have a ‘Good Samaritan’ law where strangers have a duty to protect one another (e.g. France – Princess Diana car crash in 1997 the journalists had a duty to help her, they did not, and they were threatened with legal action).
State of affairs crimes
The defendant may be found liable even if they did not purposefully or voluntarily commit a criminal act.
In these cases, involuntary conduct is sufficient – actus reus committed simply by being somewhere (e.g. R v Larsonneur (1933)) or having a weapon in a public place (s.1 Prevention of Crime Act 1953) or possession of controlled drug (s.5 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971) no need to actually use the drugs
Consequence/result crimes
Must be a consequence to D’s action e.g. s.47 OAPA 1861 – ABH requires a threat of force and the consequence of actual bodily harm (see Marchant and Muntz
Conduct crimes
Where the actus reus is the prohibited conduct of a crime e.g. drink driving (s.5(a) Road Traffic Act 1988) – alcohol in bloodstream is the offence, no need for any consequence (e.g. causing an accident)
Voluntary vs Involuntary
Act/omission must be voluntary
(e.g. Hill v Baxter used example of driver being stung by bees causing crash – not voluntary action) (e.g. R v Mitchell – D pushed a third party who bumped into V in a queue causing injury – no liability for third party as their action was not voluntary) EXCEPTION to this rule is ‘state of affairs” offences
What are the six duty situations?
1 - Statutory Duty - s170 Road Traffic Act 1988
2 - Contractual Duty - Pittwood, Adomako
3 - Relationship - Gibbins and Proctor
4 - Voluntary assumption of responsibility - Stone and Dobinson, Evans
5 - Official position - Dytham
6 - Creating a dangerous situation and failing to minimise harmful consequences - Miller, DPP v Santana Bermudez
What is statutory duty?
A duty of care imposed by parliament
s.170 Road Traffic Act 1988 – failing to report RTA
s.1 Children and Young Persons Act 1933 – duty for parent to provide food, clothing, medical aid and care for children
What is contractual duty
A duty of care imposed by contract (e.g. employment – on-duty lifeguard, doctor, mechanic, teacher…)
R v Pittwood (1902) – railway crossing keeper
R v Adomako (1995) – hospital anaesthetist
What is a relationship (duty situation)
A duty of care imposed due to you CHOOSING to marry or become a parent
R v Gibbins and Proctor (1918) – parent owed duty to child
R v Smith (1979) – husband owed duty to wife
What is assuming responsibility (duty situation)
A duty of care imposed due to you CHOOSING to accept responsibility
Examples are babysitting, caring for grandchild or sibling
R v Stone and Dobinson (1977) brother accepted responsibility for poorly sister
R v Evans (2009) D owed a duty of care to sister who died of drug overdose
R v Gibbins and Proctor (1918) step-parent accepted responsibility for step-child
What is official/public position (duty situation)
Linked to contractual duty, rare
R v Dytham - police officer guilty of ‘willfully and without reasonable excuse’ failing to do his job and fulfil his duty
What is creating a dangerous situation (Duty Situation)
Duty of care imposed, D has a duty to take steps to rectify any dangerous situation he created
R v Miller - squatter who cause a fire and moved to another room
The elements of Actus Reus
- The actus reus requires proof an act, an omission or a state of affairs.
- Where it is an act, it must be voluntary and freely willed.
- Movements which are undesired, unconscious or physically controlled by another would be involuntary
Elements of Mens Rea
- means ‘guilty mind’
- mental element of the crime
- does not mean that (D) must know what they are doing is against the law
- it means that (D) must have the required level of mens rea for the particular offence.
- 2 levels of mens rea - intention and recklessness
Intention
Intention can be sub-divided into specific intention and oblique intention.
For the most serious of crimes, it is necessary to show that (D) had specific intention.
Specific Intent
In dictionary terms, specific intention means aim, purpose or objective.
One judicial definition is ‘A decision to bring about…the prohibited consequence…’ - R v. Mohan (1976)
Oblique intent
Oblique intention applies in situations where (D) intends the act but not the consequence.
The test for oblique intent was stated in R v. Nedrick and confirmed in R v. Woollin.
The test allows the jury to infer (find) specific intention if:
The outcome is a virtually certain consequence of the act, and;
(D) knows that it is a virtually certain consequence.
N.B. The jury may infer specific intention, but does not have to do so.
