Criminal: Actus Reus

Actus Reus

The actus reus is the physical element of the crime, the main principle regarding actus reus is that it must be a voluntary action. The prosecution must prove that there was a guilty act which might include positive acts, omitting to act and being involved in a state of affairs.

Positive Acts

Deller [1952]: The defendant represented that his car that he was selling was free from encumbrances. The defendant had signed a hire purchase agreement, which meant that the loan company had rights over the car. The hire purchase agreement had not been signed off yet under the Bill of Sale Act 1878. Held, as it had not been signed off as he made this claim there was no guilty act.

Houghton v Smith: The police stopped a lorry carrying stolen beef but let it proceed in order to catch the recipient. Smith was charged with receiving the stolen goods. It was acquitted for when he received them they were in police custody and were therefore not stolen, therefore there was no guilty act.

State of Affairs Cases

Larsonneur [1933]: A French citizen was deported from Britain and taken to Ireland, where she was deported back to Britain. She was arrested upon landing and charged under the Aliens Order Act 1920, which says ‘being an alien to whom leave to land in the UK has been refused’. She did not need to commit an act, landing in Britain made it an offence.

Winzar v Chief Constable of Kent [1983]: A drunk man was brought into the hospital on a stretcher. He was asked to leave but sat in the corridor, the police picked him up, took him outside and put him in the car. They charged him with being drunk in a public place. Held, it was immaterial how the defendant got to be in a public place.

Reflex Actions

These are spontaneous actions that the defendant has no control over.

Hill v Baxter: Here the court gave a list of actions that would not be voluntary such as being stung by a bee and losing control of a car.

Physical Force

The conduct may be regarded as involuntary if a person is physical forced to commit the conduct by someone else.

Leicester v Pearson: Held, the action of the driver colliding with the car in front due to being hit in the rear by another driver was an involuntary action.

Automatism

Where the defendant performs the physical action but is completely unaware of what he is doing because of some external factor.

R v Quick: Held, the defendant suffered from a diabetic seizure which was caused externally and therefore amounts to automatism.

Omitting to Act

The general rule under UK law is that there is no liability for failing to act unless the defendant was under a legal duty to take positive action.

 
Pittwood: Held, the defendant had failed to perform his contractual duty to close the gate and became liable for this omission.