Actus Reus & Mens Rea

Question 1

What are the physical and mental elements of a crime?

Answer 1

Actus Reus and Men’s Rea

Question 2

What are the types of actus reus rules?

Answer 2

Omissions and Causations

Question 3

What are the types of Mens Rea?

Answer 3

Transferred Malice, Coincidence and Strict Liability

Question 4

What is the Actus Reus?

Answer 4

A voluntary guilty act

Question 5

What are ommissions?

Answer 5

Where the law gives a person a legal duty to act, but they fail to do so.

Question 6

What are the 4 types of omissions?

Answer 6

Contractual duty, special relationship, voluntary assumption and creating a dangerous situation

Question 7

What is causation?

Answer 7

A way of establishing who committed the Actus Reus of a crime

Question 8

What are the two types of causation?

Answer 8

Factual and Legal causation

Question 9

Explain factual causation

Answer 9

The “but, for” test. “But for the defendants actions would the results have happened?”

Question 10

What is the case for factual causation?

Answer 10

White. Defendant poisoned his mothers drink, however she died from a heart attack before she drank it.

Question 11

What is legal causation?

Answer 11

Chain of causation, starting with the defendants act, and ending with the victims death or serious injury.

Question 12

What is the rule on legal causation?

Answer 12

If the chain does not break, the defendant is liable for the victims injury/death.

Question 13

What is the case for legal causation?

Answer 13

Kimsey, D was high speed racing his friend, then drove into the back of friends car due to high speed and loss of control. His friend died and he was charged with death by dangerous driving.

Question 14

What is the case for a contractual duty? (Ommisions)

Answer 14

Pit wood. Train was coming and D still allowed cars to pass through the train tracks as he decided he was on his lunch break and left the barrier up for cars to pass through. It was a failure to act since it was his contractual duty to check if a train is coming.

Question 15

What is the case for speacial relationships rule? (Omissions)

Answer 15

Gibbons + Proctor. Father and stepmother, starved daughter to death, due to fathers special relationship with the child he failed to act.

Question 16

What is the case for Voluntary Assumption? (Ommissions)

Answer 16

Gibbons and Proctor. Stepmother volunteered to take care of the child so she is under a legal obligation to take care of her.

Question 17

What is the definition of murder?

Answer 17

The unlawful killing of a human being with the intention to kill or cause GBH.

Question 18

What is the case for the creating a dangerous situation rule?

Answer 18

Miller. D was charged with arson after starting a fire in someone’s home whilst being asleep on a mattress that had caught fire, he then got up and did not evacuate the people in the home and went to sleep.

Question 19

What are the ways a chain can’t be broken?

Answer 19

Escape attempts, bad medical treatment, thin skull rule, acts of a third party, victim refusing medical treatment, switching off life support machine.

Question 20

What is the escape attempts rule and case?

Answer 20

“As long as the victims actions are reasonable and foreseeable, the chain will not be broken” Case- Roberts, girl jumps out of car going at 20mph to avoid sexual assault.

Question 21

What is the bad medical treatments rule and case?

Answer 21

“If the original injuries inflicted by defendant are still the cause of death the chain will not be broken” Case- Cheshire, victim was shot but later received bad medical treatment, however still died due to original injuries.

Question 22

What is the thin skull rule and case?

Answer 22

“The defendant must take their victim as they find them” Case- Blaue, victim was stabbed by defendant after refusing his advances.

Question 23

What is the acts of a third party rule and case?

Answer 23

As long as the defendant has made a contribution to the result the chain will not break. Case- Pagett, pregnant girlfriend held hostage by boyfriend with a firearm, defendant shot at police, police fired and hit the girlfriend due to defendant hiding behind her.

Question 24

What is the victim refusing medical treatment rule and case?

Answer 24

“The victim is under no legal obligation to seek medical help” Case- Holland, victim got into fight and received a locked jaw due to shock, instead of seeking medical attention the victim goes home and died due to infection in the mouth.

Question 25

What is the doctors switching off life support machine rule and case?

Answer 25

Doctors switching off the life support machine does not break the chain of causation. Case- Malchereck, defendant stabbed his wife, she ends up on life support machine and doctors decide to switch it off. Defendant was still liable for victims death.