Explain the Meaning of Actus Reus and Mens Rea Essay Sample
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Introduction of TOPIC
Actus reus is the Latin term for a guilty act or the prohibited conduct. It must be a voluntary act as stated in Bratty v by Denning. An involuntary act is one done by the muscles without control of the mind or you may be concussed. Actus reus is all the external elements of a crime. Actus reus can also be an omission. The general rule is that there is no duty to act as stated by Stephens J when he said that there was no obligation to save a stranger from drowning, however there are exemptions.
For example having a duty to act because of your contract as illustrated in R v Adomako where the anaesthetist failed to notice a detached oxygen tube and thus failed to carry out his contractual obligations; in R v Gibbons & Proctor it was held that there is a duty to look after your relatives (need not be blood related) where a father and step mother failed to care for their daughter/step daughter; in R v Stone and Dobinson it was held that where you take on responsibility for care then you have a duty to fulfil that care unlike in this case where Stone was held to have failed in his duty to look after his sick sister adequately after she moved into his home. In R v Miller it was held that failing to resolve a dangerous situation you created could lead to liability – the defendant accidentally set light to a mattress and then moved rooms rather than trying to put it out. There is also a duty owed by public office (R v Dytham) and statutory duties such as Road Traffic Act.
Explain the meaning of causation
Causation is establishing that the defendant caused the result both factually and legally. The factual test is but for the act of the defendant would the result have occurred. If the answer is yes as in R v White where but for putting cyanide in his mums drink would she have died then the D is not liable (she died of an unrelated cause). If the answer is no as in R v Pagett then the D is the cause.
Legal causation requires that the D is the operative and substantial cause of the result. D does not have to be the only cause but it must be more than minimal. In R v Smith whilst there was medical negligence it was held that the V died of the original wounds – these were operating on the V when he died,
A defendant may wish to argue a novus actus interveniens i.e claim that there was another act which caused the outcome such as medical negligence, unforeseen events and the thin skull rule. In R v Cheshire it was held that medical negligence only breaks the chain of causation if the act of the doctor rendered the D’s act insignificant. A case example is R v Jordan where the doctor gave a healing patient an antibiotic which they were allergic to and this was in the patient’s notes. The treatment was held as palpably wrong and it was independent of the Ds act.
If the intervening act is reasonably foreseeable then the D is still liable as in R v Pagett where it was reasonably foreseeable that the police would shoot back at Pagett. Furthermore, the D may still be liable for injuries suffered to a victim trying to escape unless the victim’s response was daft. In R v Roberts the girl jumping form the car to escape an assault was held as a reasonable response.
Finally, the D has to take the victim as they find them meaning that the victim’s particular physical frailties or moral beliefs do not break the chain. This is illustrated in R v Blaue where the V was stabbed and then refused a blood transfusion as she was a jehovahs witness, The d was liable even though she would have survived with the treatment.
Explain the meaning of mens rea
Mens rea is the guilty mind. It is the state of mind the defendant has at the time of committing the actus reus. The actus reus and mens rea must coincide. There are various types of mens rea. The most blameworthy is intention 