Criminal Law: Key Case
R v Dytham [1979] QB 722
Introduction An o -duty police o cer failed to put a stop
to ght taking place outside a nightclub,
which resulted in a death!
What makes a crime?
It was held that the o cer was liable for
Criminal o ences are split into two elements: misconduct, but not manslaughter, as there
was no proof that the omission caused the
- Actus reus: The physical act of crime; and death.
- Mens rea: The mental element of crime.
These two phrases come from the latin phrase 2. Contractual Duty
“Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea” or “the Those working within a contract may be under
act itself does not constitute guilt unless done a duty to act. This includes those that work as
with a guilty mind”. lifeguards, doctors, teachers and police
o cers.
There are certain caveats to this:
Any omission within these professionals could
- There should be a clear link between the attract criminal charges (especially if it
actus reus and result. resulted in a death).
- In crimes such as conduct crimes, only the
carrying out of illegal conduct need be Key Case
proven.
- The actus reus must be voluntary. Pittwood (1902) 19 T.L.R. 37
Omissions A signal man, whom looked after a level
crossing, left a gate open and then left his
An omission is a failure to act, and an post! When he returned, he saw that a
individual is only accountable for an omission pedestrian had been killed…
of they had a duty to act and failed to do so.
Duties in criminal law include: Despite arguing he only had a duty of care to
his employer, it was held that he also had a
- Statutory duty duty of care towards fellow pedestrians and
- Contractual duty was convicted of manslaughter by gross
- negligence.
Assumption of duty
- Dangerous situations; and
- Special relationships. 3. Assumption of duty
A duty to act will be imposed on anyone who
Think SCADS. voluntarily assumes a duty over a dependant
person.
1. Statutory Duty
For example, if an uncle takes in their niece/
This is where statute makes certain failures to nephew into their home permanently, then
act a criminal o ence. they will assume a duty of care. Cases
concerning familial duty of care can be seen in
An example of this is failing to provide a police R v Nicholls (1874) and R v Instan (1893).
o cer with a specimen of breath when
required, contrary to Section 6 of the Road Key Case
Tra c Act 1988.
Stone and Dobinson (1977)
These omissions do not have certain
consequences, so where there has been an The defendant’s sister moved in and became
omission, an individual can be charged with very ill, refusing to eat. The brother tried to
an additional criminal o ence, alongside their nd a doctor, but the sister died. He was
breach of duty. convicted of manslaughter by feeble attempt.
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, 4. Dangerous Situations In this case, the parents failed to feed their
child, resulting in its untimely death. It was
This occurs where an individual: held that their omission to provide their child
with food constituted a murder.
- Creates a dangerous situation;
- Becomes aware they have done so; and Key Case 2
- Fails to take steps to control or minimise
the damage of it. R v Smith [1979] CC
If any harm or damage came as a result of the Three days after a stillbirth, an individual’s wife
dangerous situation, the individual would be fell unconscious. The husband failed to
held liable. contact a doctor in a timely manner, which
resulted in their wife’s death.
Key Case 1
Although the husband was viewed as liable,
Miller (1983) he was not convicted of the o ence. The
reason being that they could not nd
A homeless individual fell asleep with a lit substantial evidence to support a conviction,
cigarette in their hand. This resulted in a re meaning the case collapsed due to the juries’
within the house they were squatting in, with inability to decide on a verdict.
the individual taking no steps to prevent the
spread of said re, massive amounts of
damage was caused. When does this duty end?
It was held that although they did not know It is often di cult to de ne when a duty of
the damage that could have been caused, this care ends. In cases involving a duty to
was not necessary knowledge and so they preserve life, the duty of care ends when the
were convicted of arson. individual has no best interest in being alive.
Key Case 2 Key Case
Evans (2009) Airedale NHS Trust v Bland (1993)
The defendant gave their half sister heroin to A victim of the Hillsborough Stadium disaster
self-inject, causing an overdose and her was in a coma for three years before the
eventual death. hospital sought judicial permission to
withdraw life support.
It was held that she should be liable for
manslaughter because, as Judge LJ noted, It was held that the patient had no best
“when a person has created or contributed to interests in being alive, and so the doctors
the creation of a state of a airs which he had no remaining duty of care.
knows, or ought reasonably to know, has
become life threatening, a consequent duty on Note: The withdrawal was not an actus reus
[them] to act by taking reasonable steps to of murder, it was an omission, and as the
save the others life will normally arise.” doctors no longer had a duty of care, they
were not liable.
5. Special Relationships
Point of Interest Case
This is mostly applicable to familial Malcherek and Steel (1981)
relationships, as often they have a duty of care
towards one another. It is worth noting that This case demonstrated that switching of a life
there are no clear rules on expiration or scope support machine is not an intervening act. It
of these duties. simply allows the patient to die of a pre-
existing condition (such as in Airedale).
Key Case 1
R v Gibbins and Proctor (1918) 13 CR APP
REP 134
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