Criminal Law - Paper 1 (Question Nine: Structure and Concepts)

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  • Created by: chloefyf3
  • Created on: 10-07-22 17:25
How many marks is question nine?
15
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What is included in the first ten marks of the question and what goes into each category?
Concept / Theory

- concepts (justice / fault)
- theory (harm / autonomy, fault,
individual responsibility / fair labelling / correspondence / certainty / no retrospective liability)
2 of 51
What goes into the second five marks of the question?
actus reus / mens rea / strict liability / non fatal offences / murder / diminished responsibility & loss of control / involuntary manslaughter / property offences / defences / attempts / criminal law generally or something more specific
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What does justice mean and as a concept what does it include?
fairness, equality and even-handedness

treating like cases alike, showing impartiality and acting in good faith
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What are the three types of justice?
- procedural justice

- substantive justice

- distributive justice
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What does procedural justice concern?
the mechanism by which decisions are made
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What does substantive justice concern?
the end result
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What does distributive justice concern?
the allocation of wealth, rights and responsibilities in terms of both the benefits and burdens, so that everyone within a society gets a fair share
8 of 51
Who are two philosophers involved with distributive justice?
- Aristotle

- Marx
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How does Aristotle believe a state should distribute its wealth, rights and responsibilities?
based on merit and a persons contributions to society
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What does Aristotle think there should be to achieve justice with an example?
a proportionate system, in which the
worthiest are rewarded with the largest share

e.g if you work more years / contribute more to a pension scheme from a higher salary you get a larger pension than if you have worked fewer years / contributed less f
11 of 51
Why is rewarding people based on their needs unjust to Aristotle?
it rewards the laziest
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Why would supporters of Aristotle's theory regard this scheme as just?
peoples rewards are proportionate to their contribution
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However, what does Aristotle's theory not consider with an example?
peoples need, only their merit

e.g good that lazy people aren't unfairly rewarded, but people that could be disabled or sick will get less distributed to them which may seem unjust as they may need more resources such as treatment
14 of 51
What is Marx's model of distributive
justice known as and in what slogan is it embodied?
communism

'from each according to his ability, to each according to his need'
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What does Marx's theory state about people in order to achieve distributive justice?
each should maximize their
contribution to the common wealth
by making full use of their abilities;
and each will receive according to
their need, irrespective of their
personal contribution to the production process
16 of 51
What have critics of Marx pointed out?
he rewards the undeserving poor and that no country has successfully received his idea - although capitalist societies following principles of
distributive justice are also criticized for social injustice
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When was the theory of utilitarianism developed and by which two people?
C19

Jeremy Bentham
&
John Stuart Mill
18 of 51
For utilitarians, what is justice concerned with promoting?
the greatest happiness for the greatest number
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What is an example of utilitarian reasoning?
way in which decisions are made about the availability of drugs through the
NHS, which is sometimes challenged in court through judicial review
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Why is a cost benefit analysis used with an example?
so that the money is spent where it will benefit a majority of people

a £10,000 treatment to save one persons life may not be given and instead the money used to help other people who can benefit from cheaper treatment
21 of 51
What is a key criticism of utilitarianism and explain how Stefan Kiszko is an example of this?
the theory focuses on the interests of the majority which are prioritized even though this may be detrimental to an individuals life

he was wrongly convicted of murder which made the community feel safe but did him a terrible injustice
22 of 51
What did Lord Denning add on about judges to his belief that 'the proper role of the judge is to do justice between the parties'?
if the law got in the way of achieving
justice, it would be the role of the judge to avoid or change the rule so as to achieve justice in the instant case
23 of 51
What is one way in which our legal system may achieve procedural justice (concerns mechanism by which decisions are made)?
through the right to appeal
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Which two courts can the defendant make their appeal to (and why) from the magistrates court?
the crown court (conviction or sentence)

the high court (point of law)
25 of 51
To which court can the defendant appeal to from the crown court, with a case example (what happened here)?
the court of appeal

Thornton
- defendant appealed on grounds of new evidence and was allowed a re trial
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What did Thornton show the defendant must have to appeal?
permission to appeal based on the merits of their case
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How is substantive justice achieved in
order to achieve a fair outcome with an example?
application of the legal rules themselves

the general defences in criminal law
achieve justice by convicting only those who have acted voluntarily
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What happened in the case of Hardie that resulted in the defendants conviction being quashed?
the unexpected effect of a drug meant that the defendant as not acting voluntarily
29 of 51
Why may the mandatory life sentence for murderers show that sometimes, legal rules fail to achieve justice?
allows no judicial flexibility to recognize different levels of seriousness of the offence
30 of 51
In the case of R v Canning, what did the trial judge describe the defendants sentence as?
a classic example of injustice
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What is an example of innocent people that served long prison sentences for crimes they did not commit and what happened to these people?
the Guildford Four

served 15 years in prison before being
released following quashed convictions after it was discovered the police falsified their statements
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What is fault the common thread through all of and what is the concept of fault a form of?
all english law

wrongdoing
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What does fault ensure that the person at fault has?
legal responsibility for their actions
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Can a person be at fault even if the offence or action carried out is termed 'no fault'?
sometimes, yes
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What does a person have to be to be held liable for a criminal offence, relating to this concept?
he is to some extent blameworthy (at fault)
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What does fault underpin the requirement of and why?
mens rea

it is what is in a persons mind that distinguishes between an accident and a criminal offence
37 of 51
What does Hill v Baxter show an act must be in nature?
voluntary
38 of 51
Where can the defendant also be at fault as shown in R v Stone and Dobinson?
where the defendant omits to do something if there is a duty to act
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What does causation in criminal and civil law show fault is?
a basic requirement of liability
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What happened in the case of R v White and what does it show about fault?
- defendant was not guilty of murdering his mother as she died from a heart attack rather than due to the poison he gave her

shows that fault is seen as essential even where public opinion may not approve
41 of 51
What does the law also provide to reflect the defendants degree of fault
and what does this mean the defendant in R v White could be charged with?
a choice of offences

attempted murder
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What case example shows that here, an alternative action of the but for test
may not be available where causation is not satisfied?
Barnett v Chelsea Hospital
43 of 51
What do defences such as self defence show about the relationship of the actus reus and mens rea and fault?
even where the defendant have both actus reus and mens rea of an offence, they may still not be at fault
44 of 51
What do the partial defences to murder similarly reflect?
not all killings are equally blameworthy, such as where the defendant may have diminished responsibility
45 of 51
When will strict liability offences still impose liability?
where the defendant lacks the mens rea
46 of 51
What case shows that it can be argued that the actus reus still has an element of fault?
Harrow LBC v Shah
47 of 51
What does s143(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 require the court to consider about the offender?
the offenders culpability (fault or blameworthiness) when sentencing, even for strict liability offences
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What part of the law is concerned with civil wrongs?
tort
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What is the defendants fault linked to in tort law?
the extent of harm that has been caused
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In the law on negligence, what must the defendant be seen to have fallen below and what type of fault is therefore made?
fallen below the standards of the
reasonable person in the circumstances

objective type of fault
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What is included in the first ten marks of the question and what goes into each category?

Back

Concept / Theory

- concepts (justice / fault)
- theory (harm / autonomy, fault,
individual responsibility / fair labelling / correspondence / certainty / no retrospective liability)

Card 3

Front

What goes into the second five marks of the question?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What does justice mean and as a concept what does it include?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What are the three types of justice?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

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