Defences- Automatism Flashcards
Who outlined the defence of automatism and in what case
Lord denning outlined it in the case of Bratty
What did the case of bratty say
An act isn’t punishable if it is done involuntary, by the muscles without the control of the mind e.g. spasms or reflexes
What type of defence is automatism
General defence- for all offences
Complete defence
what is automatism caused by
An external factor
What are the 2 elements of automatism
- d was acting involuntary
- it was caused by an external factor
What case was used for D acting involuntary and what was said
Attorney general reference- defence available where there’s total destruction of voluntary control
what will not suffice the d acting involuntary as said in attorney general reference
Partial LOC
What case highlighted stress as an external factor
R v T
what does the case of quick say in terms of external factors
Insulin may be an external factor
What are the 2 situations of self induced automatism
- D in self induced automatic state and knew actions likely to lead to that state
- D in self induced automatic state but not know actions likely to lead to that state
What the result of the D knowing their actions would lead to the state for self induced automatism of basic and specific intent offences
Basic intent offences- no defence
Specific intent offences- partial defence
Whats the result of the D not knowing their actions would lead to the state for self induced automatism of specific/basic intent offences
Basic/specific intent offences- complete defence
What case is used for an example of self induced automatism and what happened
Hardie- he took Valium to calm self, had a complete defence as he wasn’t reckless and he hadn’t anticipated the outcome
