CRIMINAL LAW
Notes
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION
Definition of a ‘Crime’- an act that can be faced with legal consequences for instance
punishment, fines arrest- glanville williams stated- ‘an act that is capable of being followed by
criminal proceedings having one of the types of outcome’ glanville williams- wrote the
‘Definition of Crime’
Civil law-
- Private disputes- between individuals
- Enforced by victims
- Can lead to compensation
- Standard of proof- balance of probability
Criminal law
- Public wrongs
- Enforced by state- police
- Leads to punishment by state- public prosecution
- Standard of proof- beyond reasonable doubt
In criminal law a wrongful act needs to be done voluntarily and with a guilty mind
^ Crime = actus reus and mens rea
STRUCTURES AND SOURCES
CRIMINAL COURT HIERARCHY
- Supreme court- earlier house of lords- appeals on important points of law- from the
court of appeal
- Court of appeal- criminal division- can only deal with appeals from crown court- led by
lord or lady of appeals- appeals against conviction and sentence
- Crown courts- more serious offences- can pass sentences more than 12 months-
judge alone or judge and jury- can also deal with appeals from magistrates court
- Magistrates courts- where criminal cases have their first hearing- tribunal can be a
district judge or lay (volunteer magistrates)- only can sentence up to 12 months custody
and can decide on bail but youths - under 18 is different
Crown and magistrate courts have first instance jurisdictions (where a defendant is tried,
convicted or sentenced - trials pleas sentence etc
Court of appeal or supreme courts are able to appeal a decision or outcome (appellate)
CASES GET TO COURTS BY…
Investigation → arrest → interview → charge → court apperance → trial →
sentence → appeal
,Investigations till interviews are done by the police- charges are determined on advice from the
crown prosecution service (CPS)- the head of the CPS is the Director of public prosecutions
(DPP)
- Some serious offences get direct;y sent to the crown court and is described as
‘indictable only’
- Some are less serious and can only be dealt in the magistrates court- ‘summary only’
If defendant pleads guilty
- Defendant will be sentenced
- By Magistrates if sentence will be less that 12 months
- Sent to Crown Court to be sentenced by Judge if more than 12 months (or indictable
only)
If defendant pleads not guilty
- There will need to be a trial
- Magistrates court if summary only or either way and can be sentenced by MC
Tried by a District Judge or Magistrates If sent to CC, tried by Judge and Jury
Trials- where prosecutions have to prove all the elements of the ofence- usually by calling
evidence in the form of witness testimony- if defendant pleads guilty of is found guilty they must
be sentences- plea is determined by magistrates or judge- if case is minor the defendant can
appeal the case to the court
SOURCES OF CRIMINAL LAW
LEGISLATION COMMON LAW
Statutes- primary legislation Case law
Create almost all ofences Decisions of senior courts (CA, SC, HL)
which bind other courts
Often needs further interpretation by the Essential for interpreting statutes
courts
Some offences altered, created or Murder for eg is a common law offence
implemented by secondary legislation
CA- Court of appeal
SC- Supreme court
HL- Crown court
Legislation- statutes or acts of parliment thats proposed by the gov or by a private members
bil- its passed by both house of parliament commons and lords and signed by the king
When appeal cases are head in the court of appeal or supreme court (used to be house of
lords)- decsions made can bind future courts and judges- usually written in Rv (initials or names
of appellants)
MENS REA & ACTUS REUS
Glanville william himself split criminal law into 2 sections
GENERAL PART
- Actus Reus
, - Mens Rea
- Defences etc
SPECIFIC PART
- Homicide
- Offences against the person
- Theft etc
THE FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLE
Actus Reus + Mens Rea - Defence = Crime
Actus non facit reus nisi mens sit rea- An act does not make a man guilty unless his
mind is guilty
ACTUS REUS
PARTS OF ACTUS REUS
- Conduct - act - eg a threatening act
- Circumstances-
- Consequences
- State of affairs
Actus reus requires the prosecution to prove that the defendants conduct caused a
particular consequence- causation needs to be proven eg a murder
PROSECUTION NEEDS TO PROVE
- Cause in fact- eg if the death would have occured without the acts of the defendant if it
would there is no factual causation & Cause in law - has to be a substantial cause (a
contributing factor to the crime doesnt need to be the sole cause) and not break the
chain of causation (by victim, third parties and natura; events)
THE VICTIM
^ The victim- defendants must take the victim as he finds him- the ‘Thin skull rule’ extends
beyond the medical or psychollogical conditions to include non physical conditions eg religious
beliefs- the judgement needs to be made on the whole man not just the physical
Eg drug abuse- fully voluntary acts of the victim can break the chain of causation→
eg R v Kennedy (2007)- legal chain of causation is only broken where the victim is
an informed adult of sound mind and their actions are free, deliberate and
informed- eg a drug dealer would still be liable for the death of a victim if the victim
is not of sound mind or if the dealer performs an act beyond supplying the drug to
the victim
R V KENNEDY 2007
- R v Field [2021] EWCA Crim 380: where V is being deliberately led into a dangerous
situation by someone who pretends to be concerned about his safety, then that is not a free,
voluntary and informed decision and so D is liable for murder
- R v Rebelo [2021] EWCA Crim 306: where V purchased ‘food supplements’ advertised as
such online but which were actually dangerous chemicals then she ‘did not make a fully free,
voluntary and informed decision to risk death’. D’s conviction upheld
- Smith, Hogan and Ormerod: these judgments are ‘difficult to defend;
Notes
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION
Definition of a ‘Crime’- an act that can be faced with legal consequences for instance
punishment, fines arrest- glanville williams stated- ‘an act that is capable of being followed by
criminal proceedings having one of the types of outcome’ glanville williams- wrote the
‘Definition of Crime’
Civil law-
- Private disputes- between individuals
- Enforced by victims
- Can lead to compensation
- Standard of proof- balance of probability
Criminal law
- Public wrongs
- Enforced by state- police
- Leads to punishment by state- public prosecution
- Standard of proof- beyond reasonable doubt
In criminal law a wrongful act needs to be done voluntarily and with a guilty mind
^ Crime = actus reus and mens rea
STRUCTURES AND SOURCES
CRIMINAL COURT HIERARCHY
- Supreme court- earlier house of lords- appeals on important points of law- from the
court of appeal
- Court of appeal- criminal division- can only deal with appeals from crown court- led by
lord or lady of appeals- appeals against conviction and sentence
- Crown courts- more serious offences- can pass sentences more than 12 months-
judge alone or judge and jury- can also deal with appeals from magistrates court
- Magistrates courts- where criminal cases have their first hearing- tribunal can be a
district judge or lay (volunteer magistrates)- only can sentence up to 12 months custody
and can decide on bail but youths - under 18 is different
Crown and magistrate courts have first instance jurisdictions (where a defendant is tried,
convicted or sentenced - trials pleas sentence etc
Court of appeal or supreme courts are able to appeal a decision or outcome (appellate)
CASES GET TO COURTS BY…
Investigation → arrest → interview → charge → court apperance → trial →
sentence → appeal
,Investigations till interviews are done by the police- charges are determined on advice from the
crown prosecution service (CPS)- the head of the CPS is the Director of public prosecutions
(DPP)
- Some serious offences get direct;y sent to the crown court and is described as
‘indictable only’
- Some are less serious and can only be dealt in the magistrates court- ‘summary only’
If defendant pleads guilty
- Defendant will be sentenced
- By Magistrates if sentence will be less that 12 months
- Sent to Crown Court to be sentenced by Judge if more than 12 months (or indictable
only)
If defendant pleads not guilty
- There will need to be a trial
- Magistrates court if summary only or either way and can be sentenced by MC
Tried by a District Judge or Magistrates If sent to CC, tried by Judge and Jury
Trials- where prosecutions have to prove all the elements of the ofence- usually by calling
evidence in the form of witness testimony- if defendant pleads guilty of is found guilty they must
be sentences- plea is determined by magistrates or judge- if case is minor the defendant can
appeal the case to the court
SOURCES OF CRIMINAL LAW
LEGISLATION COMMON LAW
Statutes- primary legislation Case law
Create almost all ofences Decisions of senior courts (CA, SC, HL)
which bind other courts
Often needs further interpretation by the Essential for interpreting statutes
courts
Some offences altered, created or Murder for eg is a common law offence
implemented by secondary legislation
CA- Court of appeal
SC- Supreme court
HL- Crown court
Legislation- statutes or acts of parliment thats proposed by the gov or by a private members
bil- its passed by both house of parliament commons and lords and signed by the king
When appeal cases are head in the court of appeal or supreme court (used to be house of
lords)- decsions made can bind future courts and judges- usually written in Rv (initials or names
of appellants)
MENS REA & ACTUS REUS
Glanville william himself split criminal law into 2 sections
GENERAL PART
- Actus Reus
, - Mens Rea
- Defences etc
SPECIFIC PART
- Homicide
- Offences against the person
- Theft etc
THE FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLE
Actus Reus + Mens Rea - Defence = Crime
Actus non facit reus nisi mens sit rea- An act does not make a man guilty unless his
mind is guilty
ACTUS REUS
PARTS OF ACTUS REUS
- Conduct - act - eg a threatening act
- Circumstances-
- Consequences
- State of affairs
Actus reus requires the prosecution to prove that the defendants conduct caused a
particular consequence- causation needs to be proven eg a murder
PROSECUTION NEEDS TO PROVE
- Cause in fact- eg if the death would have occured without the acts of the defendant if it
would there is no factual causation & Cause in law - has to be a substantial cause (a
contributing factor to the crime doesnt need to be the sole cause) and not break the
chain of causation (by victim, third parties and natura; events)
THE VICTIM
^ The victim- defendants must take the victim as he finds him- the ‘Thin skull rule’ extends
beyond the medical or psychollogical conditions to include non physical conditions eg religious
beliefs- the judgement needs to be made on the whole man not just the physical
Eg drug abuse- fully voluntary acts of the victim can break the chain of causation→
eg R v Kennedy (2007)- legal chain of causation is only broken where the victim is
an informed adult of sound mind and their actions are free, deliberate and
informed- eg a drug dealer would still be liable for the death of a victim if the victim
is not of sound mind or if the dealer performs an act beyond supplying the drug to
the victim
R V KENNEDY 2007
- R v Field [2021] EWCA Crim 380: where V is being deliberately led into a dangerous
situation by someone who pretends to be concerned about his safety, then that is not a free,
voluntary and informed decision and so D is liable for murder
- R v Rebelo [2021] EWCA Crim 306: where V purchased ‘food supplements’ advertised as
such online but which were actually dangerous chemicals then she ‘did not make a fully free,
voluntary and informed decision to risk death’. D’s conviction upheld
- Smith, Hogan and Ormerod: these judgments are ‘difficult to defend;
