Actus Reus

Actus Reus

• Physical element of a crime

• Must be done by a voluntary act or through an omission to act (only if D has a duty to act)

R v Mcpherson

• D stole bottles of whiskey

• Voluntary act

R v Pittwood

• Railway crossing keeper omitted to shut the gates

• Person got hit & killed by train

• Had a contractual duty

R v Gibbons & Proctor

• Father & partner starved 7 year old child to death

• Had a duty because of a relationship

R v Stone & Dobinson

• Ds took on task of looking after elderly sister who was bedridden & refused to eat

• V died as they failed to get her medical treatment

• Duty taken on voluntarily

R v Miller

• D fell asleep whilst smoking a cigarette & set mattress on fire

• He didn’t attempt to put fire out & house set on fire as a result

• Duty because D set in motion a chain of events

Act of parliament

• Act of Parliament can create liability for an omission

• Eg not reporting a road accident or refusing to provide a specimen of breath

Automatism

• External factor affected D’s behaviour in a way they can not control then they lack actus reus

• Hill V Baxter - D lost control of the wheel after having a heart attack due to a swarm of bees in car

Factual causation

• Proves D factually caused the consequences

• D can only be guilty if the consequences wouldn’t have happened ‘but for D’s conduct

R v White

• D attempted to kill his mother by putting cyanide in her lemonade

• She died of a heart attack before she could drink it

• Not factual cause of her death

Legal causation

• Proves D legally caused the consequences

• D’s conduct doesn’t have to be the sole cause but it must be more than minimal using ‘de minimus test’

R v Pagett

• D used girlfriend as a human shield in a police shootout, resulting in her death

• D was legal cause as he played more than a minimal role

Intervening events

• Chain of causation may be broken by an unforeseeable intervening event eg:

• Victim’s own act

• Negligent medical treatment

• Acts of a third party

• Natural or unpredictable event eg snow

R v Roberts (V’s own act)

• V jumped from moving car after D sexually assaulted her

• D guilty as chain not broken due to a foreseeable event

R v Williams (V’s own act)

• V jumped from a moving car as he feared he would be robbed

• D not guilty as chain broken due to an unforeseeable event

R v Lewis (V’s own act)

• V died after gang chased him into the road

• D guilty as chain was not broken due to foreseeable event

R v Marjoram (V’s own act)

• V jumped out of hostel window because D broke in

• D guilty as chain not broken due to foreseeable event

R v Smith (negligent medical treatment)

• V died after D stabbed them

• D found guilty despite poor medical treatment as chain of causation not broken

R v Cheshire (negligent medical treatment)

• V shot by D

• D found guilty despite poor medical treatment as chain of causation not broken

R v Jordan (negligent medical treatment)

• V died from palpably wrong medical treatment

• Chain of causation broken

R v Malcherek

• D stabbed wife in stomach & she was put on a life support machine

• Tests shown she was brain dead & machines were switched off

• D charged with murder as didn’t break chain of causation

Eggshell skull rule

• Those who use violence must take their victim as they find them

• Liable for the consequences if V is vulnerable, even if a normal person wouldn’t have suffered any consequences

R v Woods

• D hit younger brother who died due to rare medical condition

• D liable as “must take their victim as they find them”

R v Blaue

• V stabbed by D but died after refusing blood transfusion due to religious beliefs

• D guilty as “must take your victim as you find them”