Week 1 - Actus Reus

Question 1

Equation for libaility

Answer 1

Actus reus (guilty act) + Mens rea (guilty mind) - Defence = criminal liability

Question 2

Factual Causation

Answer 2

• Must be there in order to have legal causation
• “but for” test -> but for the defendants actions the results would not have occurred

Question 3

Factual Causation - Cases

Answer 3

White (1910) - D attemtped to poiuson mother but she died of a heart attack instead

Question 4

Legal causation

Answer 4

1 - blameworthy conduct
2 - Must be more than de minimus
3 - no novus actus interveniens to break chain of causation

Question 5

Novus actus interveneins

Answer 5

• a break in the chain of causation
  1 - Act from D
  2 - Act of God
  3 - Act of V
  4 - Act of 3rd party

Question 6

Causation - Act of V

Answer 6

• free, voluntary and informed actions of V can break the chain of causation (kennedy)
• unless the action is foreseeable to a reasonable person and the D (Roberts, Mackie and Wallac)
• eggshell skull principle - if V suffers form a condition in whcih they dies in a situaiton which would not kill someone else -> take the victim as you find them (Blaue)

Question 7

Act of V - Cases

Answer 7

Kennedy - D prepared syrugne of heroine and left in the room with V, he injected himself and died of OD -> victim freely chose to inject himself -> chain broken
Roberts - D in car with V and made sexual advances, v jumped out of car and received injuries -> it is foreseeable that she would jump out of the car to avoid D-> chin not broken
Mackie - D abused 3 yr old child who ran away and fell down stairs and dies -> it is foreseeable that V would run away from D due to being scared -> chain not broken
Wallace - D attacked V with acid, D sought euthanasia in Belgium ->not legal in Uk so not foreseeable in Uk -> chain broken

Question 8

Blaue - Victim refusal

Answer 8

Blaue - D stabbed V who then refused to take life saving blood transfusion in hospital due to her beliefs as a Jehovah’s Witness -> doesn’t break the chain of causation as principle of take the victim as you find them extends to religious beliefs (mental states)

Question 9

Action of a 3rd Party - Cases

Answer 9

Jordan (1956)- D stabbed V who ended up in hospital and died after an allergic reaction to terramycin -> normal medical treatment does not break the chain of causation but abnormal does -> treatment was ‘palpably wrong’ which led to death of V and broke chain of causation