actus reus- paper 1

Question 1

actus reus

Answer 1

‘guilty act’ - physical element of a crime

Question 2

omission

Answer 2

failure to act
-not an actus reus unless you have a duty to act

Question 3

relationship duty

Answer 3

duty to act arose from a relationship e.g. father & son

Question 4

relationship duty example

Answer 4

R v Gibbons and Proctor
- father failed to feed his child and him and his partner killed the child through starvation

Question 5

duty

Answer 5

something imposed on you by the law that you have to do

Question 6

assuming responsibility voluntarily

Answer 6

when you assume legal responsibility of someone- agree to tae care of them

Question 7

assuming responsibility voluntarily example

Answer 7

R v Stone and Dobinson
- D and his girlfriend failed to care for his elderly sister after choosing to care for her rather than sending her to a home- she died of poor treatment/ neglect

Question 8

creating a dangerous situation

Answer 8

having a duty to act or warn people because you created the situation

Question 9

creating a dangerous situation example

Answer 9

R v Miller
-he failed to tackle the fire or alert people of it after he started it by dropping a lit cigarette on the floor- the house burned down

Question 10

contractual duty

Answer 10

when you have a duty to act due to an employment contract

Question 11

contractual duty example

Answer 11

R v Pittwood
- D failed to put the gate down on a railway line and someone died

Question 12

duty of public office

Answer 12

when you have a duty to act due to being in public office (most likely a police officer)

Question 13

duty of public office example

Answer 13

R v Dytham
-a police officer watched a fight break out and failed to intervene so the man died