Unit 2 L1 cases - Lecture notes 1 PDF

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In depth analysis and explanation of relevant case law. , In depth analysis and explanation of relevant case law. , In depth analysis and explanation of relevant case law. ...

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Thabo Meli v R [1954] 1 WLR 228 Four appellants were convicted of murder. They had planned to kill a man and then make it look like an accident, so they took him to a hut and beat him over the head. They thought he was dead so they threw him off a cliff. Medical evidence showed that he died from exposure of being left at the bottom of the cliff, and not from the beating. The appellants appealed against their convictions because the Mens rea and actus reus didn’t coincide. Convictions were upheld, because the act of beating him and throwing him off a cliff was one continuing act (PRECEDENT).

R v Le Brun [1991] 3 WLR 653 Defendant punched his wife on the chin, knocking her unconscious. He DID NOT intend to cause her serious harm. The defendant attempted to move her body, but dropped her which caused her skill to break and she died. Although the unlawful application of force and the eventual act that caused death were at different times, they were still part of the same sequence and therefore the same transaction. This means that he is still liable for the death of his wife. This is a continuing act. Fagan v MPC [1969] 1 QB 439 A policeman directed the defendant to park and he accidently ran onto the policeman’s foot. The policeman shouted at him to move, but the defendant didn’t… He argued that he lacked mens rea when he committed actus reus. However, when he refused to move off the policeman’s foot, he then committed mens rea. This is an example of a continuing act. Deller (1952) 36 Cr App R 184 D induced C to purchase his car by saying that it was free from encumbrances. D had previously executed a document, which purported to mortgage the car to a finance company, and he thought he was telling a lie. However, the document by which the transaction had been effected was probably void in law as an unregistered bill of sale. If it was void then yes, it would be free from encumbrances. The appellant had told the truth by accident. Although he had mens rea, there was no actus reus. Shows that if there isn’t an act then there isn’t a crime.

R v Larsonneur [1933] 24 Cr App R 74 The defendant, who was French, was deported against her will, from Ireland to England, by the Irish authorities. She was immediately charged with the offence of being an illegal alien. Her conviction was upheld, despite the fact she had not voluntarily come to England.

Winzar v Chief Constable of Kent (1983) The Times, 28 Mch The defendant was removed from a hospital by police and was then arrested and found guilty of being drunk on the highway, even though the police officers had put him there. ACTUS REUS AS A STATE OF AFFAIRS...