Actus reus
- Created by: tialou
- Created on: 13-02-17 12:51
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- Actus reus
- Definition
- An act, omission or 'state of affairs'
- Omissions
- A statutory, contractual, relationship, voluntary, official position or chain of events duty
- Unlawful act manslaughter can't be committed by an omission, only gross negligence manslaughter can (Lowe)
- Doctors will not be guilty of an omission where they decide to stop treating a patient, if its in their best interest
- Comment on the law on omissions
- Should there be wider liability? When is a duty imposed? Should a person be guilty by failure to act? What if D is unaware of a duty?
- Causation
- Factual cause can be tested using the 'But for' test
- The legal cause must result from D being more than a minimal cause but it need not be substantial. Also the thin skull rule applies
- The link from cause to consequence must be direct. If a third party act sufficiently independent from D's act occurs, D will not be found guilty
- The victims own act can lead to D's conviction if D caused V to react in a foreseeable way
- Medical treatment is unlikely to break the chain of causation but there are cases in some instances where this has occured
- It must be proved D was the factual and legal cause of the consequence and there were no intervening acts
- Comment on the law on causation
- Take your victim as you find him, V refusing treatment, Negligent medical treatment
- Definition
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