Actus Reus The physical element of a crime: o An act o An omission (failure to act) o A state of affairs Conduct, consequence, circumstances.

. To complete an offence, mens rea is also needed. Strict lia ility offences do not require mens rea. A state of affairs is an in!oluntary act: o "arsonneur #$%%& ' ordered to lea!e ()* rou+ht ac, to () a+ainst her -ill ut .rish police. Con!icted, despite in!oluntary act. Actus reus must e pro!ed: o R ! 'eller #$#/& ' thou+ht hed mort+a+ed car, and so -as lyin+ to uyer. Car not mort+a+ed& mens rea for false pretence ut no actus reus. Conduct +enerally must e !oluntary to constitute actus reus. Coincidence of actus reus and mens rea: o Tha o 0eli ! R #$12& 's plied 3 -ith drin,* hit him intendin+ to ,ill. 4ushed 3 off cliff, -here he died from e5posure. 4ri!y Council held that entire e!ent -as one continuin+ actus reus. o R ! "e 6run #$$#& ' hit -ife intendin+ to in7ure. 8er death actually resulted from ' dra++in+ her from the car, -here she hit her head on the +round. 0anslau+hter con!iction& t-o acts part of same sequence despite time +ap. o R ! Church #$//& ' fou+ht 3* ,noc,ed her unconscious. Assumed she -as dead and thre- her into ri!er -here she dro-ned. 0anslau+hter. 9missions :ormally, only !oluntary acts can constitute actus reus. 8o-e!er, a state of affairs can e sufficient for actus reus. 9missions& failin+ to act. There is only criminal lia ility for the failure if there -as a duty to act* the crime must also e a result crime (e.+. murder). Si5 different duties. A statutory duty: an act of 4arliament can create lia ility for an omission, e.+. failin+ to report a road traffic accident. ;5amples include s.# of the Children and <oun+ 4ersons Act #$%%, the 'omestic 3iolence, Crime, and 3ictims Act =>>2 and the 'an+erous 'o+s Act #$$#: o ?reener ! '44 #$$/& ' +uilty under 'an+erous 'o+s Act #$$# for failin+ to ta,e precautions -hen restrainin+ a do+ that escape and it a child. Common "a- 'uties: A contractual duty: a person may e under a contractual o li+ation to do somethin+: o 4itt-ood #$>=& le!el crossin+ ,eeper didnt close rail-ay +ate* train hit and ,illed someone. 0anslau+hter. o Adoma,o #$$2& anaesthetist didnt see disconnected reathin+ tu e durin+ operation* 3 suffered rain dama+e and died. ?ross ne+li+ence manslau+hter. 'uty due to a special relationship: common and statute la-. (sually parent&child: o ?i ins and 4roctor #$#@& father and stepmother of Ayr old +irl deli erately failed to feed her. Star!ed to death* con!icted of murder. Assumption of careB!oluntarily underta,in+ a duty: duty o-ed in -here one !oluntarily underta,es some form of care to-ards another:

o R ! Stone and 'o inson #$AA& sister of one of the 's mo!ed in, e!entually dyin+ from malnutrition etc. 6oth 's con!icted of manslau+hter* one due to relationship and other as they had fedB athed 3 at least once. o R ! :icholls #@A2& child died after mo!in+ in -ith +randmother. o R ! .nstan #@$%& niece failed to care for aunt after mo!in+ in durin+ illness. o R ! Ruffell =>>%& 3 in7ected heroin and ecame ill. ' put him outside -here he su sequently died. 'uty throu+h ones official position: o 'ytham #$A$& policeman -atched 3 e ,ic,ed to death y men* didnt interfere and after-ards said he -as +oin+ off&duty. Con!icted of misconduct in a pu lic office. A duty arisin+ from settin+ a chain of e!ents into motion: occurs -hen ' inad!ertently creates dan+erous situations -ithout mens rea. .f he ecomes a-are of it and doesnt summon help, ' can e criminally lia le. o R ! 0iller #$@%& ' slept -hilst smo,in+* a-o,e to find mattress on fire. 0o!ed to another room and did nothin+. Arson con!iction. o Santana&6ermudeC =>>%& ' didnt tell police a out needles in poc,et efore search* police officer in7ured y needles. S. 2A con!iction. o R ! )han (Run+Ca e) #$$@& appellant sold heroin to #1yr old ne- user* -ent into coma on 's premises. 'ied after ein+ left alone& retrial ordered, ut Court of Appeal thou+ht a duty to summon medical help could e5ist. o R ! ;!ans =>>$& ' +a!e heroin to 3 -ho o!erdosed* ' and mother put 3 to ed -here 3 died durin+ the ni+ht. ?ross ne+li+ence manslau+hter& duty to act as they had contri uted to 3s situation. .n!oluntary manslau+hter and omissions (nla-ful act manslau+hter cannot occur !ia omissions* it requires a positi!e act. o "o-e #$A%& ' -as father of a y -ho ecame ill and died. ' had lo- .D and failed to ta,e a y to a doctor. :o act. 0anslau+hter con!iction quashed. 'uty of 'octors .f discontinuation of treatment is in est interest of patient, then such an omission is not sufficient for the actus reus of a crime. o Airedale :8S Trust ! 6land #$$%& 3 had een crushed durin+ 8ills orou+h foot all tra+edy, and -as in a persistent !e+etati!e state and -as fed artificially throu+h tu es. Court ruled that feedin+ could e -ithdra-n. Comment and Reform concernin+ 9missions All fi!e common la- duties lac, clarity. Ehat is a special relationshipF 6ein+ lia le due to a !oluntary duty could e unfair, and discoura+e people from helpin+ others in case they are con!icted of a crime. 0edical treatment& euthanasia y a positi!e act still remains unla-ful& fairF Statutory duties& people una-are of themF 0oralBle+al o li+ation to help. ?ood Samaritan "a-& e.+. as in Grance and the :etherlands. 4eople responsi le for helpin+ stran+ers in emer+ency situations. 6ut -hat is an emer+encyF 8o- can it e enforced if a num er of people -itness a situationF Ro+ues may ta,e ad!anta+e, or people may inter!ene and put themsel!es in dan+er or ma,e the situation -orse. Causation Ehere a consequence must e pro!ed, the prosecution must sho- that: =

o 's actions -ere the factual and le+al cause* o there -as no inter!enin+ act that ro,e the chain of causation. Hury decides the issue of causation. Gactual Causation 's only +uilty if consequence -ouldnt ha!e happened ut for his actions. This eliminates any unrelated e!ents. o Ehite #$#>& ' -anted to ,ill mother* put poison in drin,. 0other died of natural causes efore poison too, effect. Gactual causation not esta lished* attempted murder rather than murder. o 4a+ett #$@%& ' held pre+nant +irlfriend hosta+e and used her as a shield durin+ shootout -ith police. 8it y police ullet and died. 0anslau+hter. Gor ' to e lia le, alon+side factual causation, le+al causation must e sho-n. "e+al Causation .s the consequence 's faultF o 'allo-ay #@2A& ' dri!in+ horse and care* child ran in front and -as ,illed. 'espite not holdin+ reins, ' acquitted as death -asnt his fault& couldnt ha!e stopped cart if he had een holdin+ reins. o 0archant and 0untC =>>%& 3 impaled self on spi,e on a+ricultural machine. Con!iction quashed* e!en if +uard on spi,e 3 -ould ha!e had fatal in7uries. ' can e +uilty is his conduct -as more than a minimal cause of consequence. o R ! 'yson #$>@& child -ith menin+itis eaten y ', its father. 8eld that the lo-s accelerated its death. ' needs to e a su stantial cause& de minimis rule. 0ust e more than a sli+ht or triflin+ lin,. o )imsey #$$/& ' in hi+h speed car chase* another dri!er ,illed in crash. Con!iction& death y dan+erous dri!in+. 9ther racin+ dri!er irrele!ant. o R ! Armstron+ #$@$& ' supplied 3 -ith heroin. 3 had had lethal amounts of alcohol* no e!idence that ta,in+ the heroin had accelerated death. :o lin,. Act must e su stantialBsi+nificant cause of death. o R ! 6en+e #@/1& ' misread train times& too, trac, up -hen trains due. 'espite ta,in+ action, other rail-ay -or,ers -ere ne+li+ent and train crashed. ' con!icted of manslau+hter& misreadin+ train times -as su stantial cause. 's act can still e su stantial cause e!en if there -as contri utory ne+li+ence y 3. o R ! "on+ ottom #@2$& deaf 3 -al,ed into road* run o!er y ' -ho -as dri!in+ too fast. 0anslau+hter. o R ! S-indall and 9s orne #@2/& t-o cart dri!ers raced, e++in+ each other on. 9ne hit pedestrian. Hointly lia le due to common purpose. ' can e lia le if actions -ere reasona ly foreseea le, e.+. if 3 diedB-as in7ured -hilst tryin+ to escape. o R ! 0ar7oram =>>>& people, includin+ ', had een shoutin+B,ic,in+ 3s hostel door. (pon them ,ic,in+ do-n door, 3 7umped or fell from -indo-. :ot a daft reaction* ?68 con!iction. o R ! 4itts #@2=& Thin,in+ he -as +oin+ to e harmed follo-in+ threats, 3 thre- self into ri!er and dro-ned as he tried to escape. ' +uilty of murder. o Ro erts #$A#& +irl 7umped from mo!in+ car to escape 's se5ual ad!ances. 'aftness test. Goreseea le reaction* ' lia le under 9A4A #@/#. %

o R ! Eilliams and 'a!is #$$#& 's pic,ed up 3, -ho leapt from car and died -hilst escapin+ ro ery attempt. Con!icted of ro ery and manslau+hter* latter quashed. 'aftness& the 7ury should consider: o .f it -as foreseea le that some harm -as li,ely to result from threat. o .f the deceaseds reaction -as an e5pected response in the situation. Thin&s,ull rule& ' must ta,e 3 as they find them. This e5tends to e5istin+ physical or physiolo+ical conditions, as -ell as reli+ious eliefs. o 8ay-ard #$>@& ' made !iolent threats and chased -ife outside. She collapsed and died due to heart condition. 8eld that proof of death from fri+ht alone, caused y ille+al conduct, -ould suffice for manslau+hter. o 6laue #$A1& ' sta ed 3, -ho refused a life sa!in+ lood transfusion due to ein+ a Heho!ahs Eitness. 3 died* ' char+ed -ith murder. o R ! 8olland #@2#& ' in7ured 3, causin+ lood poisonin+ in fin+er. 3 refused amputation, +ot loc,7a-, and died. ' con!icted. o 'ear #$$/& 3 didnt see, medical attention for artery&se!erin+ -ounds, and had apparently e5acer ated and reopened them. ' still con!icted of murder. .nter!enin+ acts& must e sufficiently independent of 's conduct and e serious enou+h to rea, causation chain. Chain not ro,en if: o .n7ury inflicted y ' is still an operatin+ and su stantial cause of death. o 3s death is result of act that is a foreseea le consequence of 's actions. o ' doesnt ta,e 3 as found. Thin+s that can rea, the chain of causation: o Act of a third party. o 3s o-n act. o A natural ut unpredicta le e!ent. 0edical treatment and causation (nli,ely to rea, chain unless it is so independent of 's actions and in itself so potent in causin+ death that 's actions are insi+nificant: o Smith #$1$& t-o soldiers fou+ht* one sta ed in lun+. 'ropped on -ay to hospital and +i!en treatment y doctor that may ha!e -orsened in7ury. 9ri+inal attac,ed +uilty of murder& -ound still operatin+. o Cheshire #$$#& ' shot 3. 3 +i!en tracheotomy ut died from complications. 's act still contri uted to death, so no rea, in chain. o Hordan #$1/& ' sta ed 3. 3 had almost reco!ered -hen +i!en anti iotics he -as aller+ic to. Suffered reaction and died. Chain ro,en* ' not +uilty. "ife&support machines& s-itchin+ off of these y a doctor -hen patient is declared rain&dead does not rea, the chain of causation. o R ! 0alchere,* Steel #$@#& ' sta ed -ife. 3 put on life&support, -hich -as turned off. ' +uilty, no rea, in chain. o R ! 0ellor #$$/& A#yr old 3 in7ured. 'ied in hospital& 7ury dont ha!e to shothat medical inter!ention -asnt cause of death. 4ro lems -ith causation Ehat does more than a sli+ht and triflin+ lin, meanF 3a+ue* 7uries apply standards. Thin&s,ull rule& unfair if ' una-are of medical conditionF .ntentF Should ' e lia le if life&sa!in+ treatment is refused y 3F 4ro lems surroundin+ ne+li+ent medical treatment. 2

Reforms Smith test altered to Cheshire test. Thin&s,ull rule& reluctant to allo- people to escape lia ility. Allo-ance for doctors s-itchin+ off life&support machines. Accelerated principle& o Adams #$1A& doctor compassionately +a!e o!erdose to patient, -ho other-ise -ould!e died a painful death. 0urder char+e* had shortened life.