Actus Reus

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What can the actus reus of a crime be?
An act, a failure to act (omission), a 'state of affairs'.
1 of 25
What are the cases for the voluntary nature of an act?
Hill v Baxter (1958) and Mitchell (1983).
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What is the a 'state of affairs case'? Give a case.
Where the D was convicted despite not doing the act voluntarily. Larsonneur (1933).
3 of 25
When is an omission amount to the actus reus?
When there was a statutory duty, a contractual duty, a duty due to a relationship, a duty taken on voluntarily, a duty through ones official position and a duty which arises because D set in motion a chain of events.
4 of 25
Give an example of a statutory duty.
Road Traffic Act 1988.
5 of 25
Give the case for a contractual duty.
Pittwood (1902).
6 of 25
Give the cases for a duty becasue of a relationship.
Gibbins and Proctar (1918).
7 of 25
Give the cases for a duty taken on voluntarily.
Stone and Dobinson (1977) and Evans (2009).
8 of 25
Give the case for a duty through one's official position.
Dytham (1979).
9 of 25
Give the cases for a duty which arises because the D set in motion a chain of events.
Miller (1983) and Santa-Bermudez (2003).
10 of 25
Give the case and the point for involuntary manslaughter.
Lowe (1973) - Gross negligence manslaughter can be committed by an omission, unlawful act manslughter can't be.
11 of 25
Give the case for the duty of doctors.
Airedale NHS Trust v Bland (1993)
12 of 25
What are the problems with omissions?
Should there be wider liability for omissions? Problems of deciding when there is a duty. Should a person be liable for a failure to act when they assume a duty. Omissions in medical treatment.
13 of 25
What must the prosecution show for causation?
D's conduct was the factual cause and legal cause of the consequence and there was no intervening act.
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What is the definition for the factual cause?
The D can only be guilty if the consequence would have not happened 'but for' the D's conduct.
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What are the cases for the factual cause?
Pagett (1993) - pregnant girlfriend shield. White (1910) - Cyanide mother.
16 of 25
What is the legal cause?
The D can be guilty if his conduct was more than a 'minimal' cause of the consequence. The conduct must be more than 'de minimus'.
17 of 25
Give the case for the legal cause, and the point that arose from this.
Kimsey (1996) - held that it is acceptable to tell the jury that there must be 'more than a slight or trifling link' rather than use the phrase 'de minimus'.
18 of 25
What is the thin-skull rule? Give the case.
The D must take their victim as they find them. Blaue (1975).
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What is the chain of causation?
There must be a direct link between the D's conduct and the consequence.
20 of 25
How can the chain of causation be broken?
An act of a third party, the V's own act, or a natural but unpredictable event. The act must be sufficiently independant of the D's conduct and sufficiently serious.
21 of 25
What is the general rule of medical treatment and causation?
Medical treatment won't break the chain of causation, unless it's so independant of the D's conduct and 'in itself so potent in causing death' that D's acts are insignificant.
22 of 25
Give the cases for medical treatment.
Smith (1959) Soldiers, D guilty. Cheshire (1991) - Tracheotromy, D guilty. Jordan (1956) - allergy to anti-biotics, D not guilty.
23 of 25
What is the case and key point for switching off a life machine?
Malcherek (1981) - Switching off the life-support machine by a doctor does not break the chain when the V is brain-dead.
24 of 25
Give the cases for the victim's own act.
Roberts (1971) - Girl jumped from car. Chain not broken. Marjoram (2000) - V jumped from window. Chain not broken. Williams and Davis (1992) - Hitchhiker jumped from car (thought D was stealing wallet). Chain broken.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What are the cases for the voluntary nature of an act?

Back

Hill v Baxter (1958) and Mitchell (1983).

Card 3

Front

What is the a 'state of affairs case'? Give a case.

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

When is an omission amount to the actus reus?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Give an example of a statutory duty.

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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