This is the Study Guide used in class with my added notes. This includes a summary of all the different sections of Actus Reus and Mens Rea, including cases, judgements and explanations.
The actus reus of an offence can be:
An act
A failure to act
A ‘state of affairs’
In most cases the actus reus will be something that the defendant does, however in
some cases it can be due to a failure to act.
Voluntary
Nature
The ofmust be voluntary on the part of the defendant. If the defendant
act or omission
has no control over his actions then no offence has been committed.
actus reus
Hill v Baxter (1958)
D was behind the wheel of a car when he collided with another vehicle. He had
been overcome by an unknown illness and had fallen unconscious. In this case
the Judge gave examples of where a driver of a vehicle could not be
said to be doing the act of driving voluntarily, e.g.
If a swarm of bees flew through the window and he lost control of his
car and committed an offence, he would not be guilty as the act was
involuntary.
If you pushed someone off a chair and they hit someone else as they fell,
has the person who hit someone committed the actus reus?
, Omissions
as
guilty actus
The general rule is that an omission (failure to do something) cannot make a person
of an offence. This was explained by a 19 century judge who stated:
th
reus
“A sees B drowning and is able to save him by holding out his hand. A
abstains from doing so in order that B may be drowned. A has committed no
offence.”
Good
Samaritan In some other countries there is a law which is called the
‘Good Samaritan’ law. This makes a person responsible
Law for helping others in an emergency situation, even though
they are complete strangers. We do not have such a law in
the English Legal System. However, France is an example
of a country that does have a ‘Good Samaritan’ law. A
famous example of this ‘Good Samaritan’ law being used in
France was when French journalists took photos of Princess
Diana in the wreckage of her car crash in Paris in 1997
instead of trying to help her.
What problems could arise from introducing a ‘Good Samaritan’ law into the
English Legal System?
High expectations if you have no medical or first aid training
Other countries that have this law are not always clear of their
expectations
How far would you have to go?
What if you can’t swim and someone is drowning?
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