the conduct element - actus reus Flashcards
(30 cards)
When can an omission lead to criminal liability?
Only if there’s a legal duty to act (e.g., special relationship, voluntary assumption of care, or creating danger).
Why is there reluctance to criminalize omissions?
- Infringes personal autonomy (e.g., forcing action).
- Lack of fair warning (unlike acts, omissions aren’t always obvious).
What are Ashworth’s principles for imposing omission liability?
Urgency (immediate danger).
Priority of life (e.g., lifeguard duties).
Opportunity/capacity (ability to help).
R v Miller (1983) – What duty arises from creating danger?
omissions
A duty to take reasonable steps to rectify the danger (e.g., Miller failed to put out a fire he accidentally started).
Stone & Dobinson (1977) – When does a special relationship create liability?
omissions
When voluntarily caring for a vulnerable person (e.g., neglecting an anorexic sister despite limited ability to help).
R v Evans (2009) – How can supplying drugs lead to omission liability?
omissions
If D creates a life-threatening situation (supplying heroin) and fails to seek help when the victim overdoses.
Fagan v MPC (1969) – How can an act become an omission?
omissions
By awareness + failure to rectify (e.g., leaving a car on a police officer’s foot after realizing it).
What is the “but for” test?
“But for D’s actions, would the harm have occurred?” (Factual causation).
- lord denning
What is legal causation?
D’s act must be a significant/operative cause of the harm (not just a minor factor).
the harm was a foreseeable result of the defendant’s conduct, and that there were no intervening events that broke the chain of causation.
R v Blaue (1975) – How does the “thin skull rule” apply?
causation
D must take victim as they are (e.g., Jehovah’s Witness refusing blood transfusion = D still liable for death).
R v Cheshire (1991) – When does medical treatment break the chain?
causation
Only if treatment is “palpably wrong” and independent of D’s actions (e.g., tracheotomy complication didn’t absolve shooter).
R v Kennedy (2007) – Why was the drug supplier not liable?
causation
Victim’s voluntary self-injection broke the chain (no duty unless D had control over administration).
R v Smith (1959) – What makes medical treatment not break causation?
causation
If original injury remains a significant cause (e.g., stab wound still contributed despite poor treatment).
R v Jordan (1956) – When does medical negligence break causation?
causation
If treatment is “palpably wrong” (e.g., fatal allergic reaction to antibiotics).
R v Roberts (1972) – How does victim reaction affect causation?
causation
If reaction is reasonable/foreseeable, D remains liable (e.g., jumping from a moving car to escape assault).
What is an example of a statutory omission offense?
Road Traffic Act 1988 – Failure to provide a breath specimen.
Larsonneur (1933) – Why is this case criticized?
D was convicted for being unlawfully in the UK despite being deported there against her will (no voluntary act).
NHS Trust v Bland (1993) – How are omissions distinguished from acts?
NHS Trust v Bland (1993) – How are omissions distinguished from acts?
What are the 5 main categories where a legal duty to act exists?
- Statutory duty (e.g., Road Traffic Act breath tests)
- Special relationship (e.g., parent-child: Instan [1893])
- Voluntary assumption of care (e.g., Stone & Dobinson [1977])
- Creating a dangerous situation (e.g., Miller [1983])
- Contractual duty (e.g., Pittwood [1902], railway gatekeeper)
R v Pittwood (1902) – How can contractual duties create liability?
Failure to fulfill a paid duty (e.g., gatekeeper not closing railway crossing) = manslaughter if harm results.
R v D [2006] – When does supplying drugs create a duty?
Medical Treatment & Causation
If D has ongoing control/assumption of care (e.g., staying with victim during overdose). Contrast with Kennedy.
R v Wallace [2018] – Why was the drug supplier liable?
Medical Treatment & Causation
Victim’s known vulnerability + D’s prior supply history created a duty to act during overdose.
R v A [2020] – Why was the remote supplier not liable?
Medical Treatment & Causation
Chain broken by independent third-party actions (B supplying to C without A’s knowledge).
What 3 factors determine if an intervening act breaks causation?
Intervening Acts (Novus Actus Interveniens)
- Foreseeability: Was the act a natural consequence of D’s conduct? (Roberts)
- Voluntariness: Was the act free/independent? (Kennedy)
- Potency: Was the act so extreme it overshadows D’s conduct? (Jordan)
