State of Affairs Offence (Winzar v CC of Kent)
- Can commit an offence by simply ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’;
- If in a particular circumstance at a particular time.
Voluntariness and Involuntariness
- The Actus Reus must be carried out voluntarily by the D;
- Cannot be a fit or reflex (R v Mitchell);
- Devlin J in Hill v Baxter gave an example with a swarm of bees.
Coincidence / contemporaneity rule
- Actus Reus and Mens Rea must occur at the same time;
- ^Judges are flexible with this rule as can be considered a continuing
act/single transaction (Fagan v MPC – ar first, R v Church – mr first);
Consequence - causation
- Can commit an offence by simply ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’;
- If in a particular circumstance at a particular time.
Voluntariness and Involuntariness
- The Actus Reus must be carried out voluntarily by the D;
- Cannot be a fit or reflex (R v Mitchell);
- Devlin J in Hill v Baxter gave an example with a swarm of bees.
Coincidence / contemporaneity rule
- Actus Reus and Mens Rea must occur at the same time;
- ^Judges are flexible with this rule as can be considered a continuing
act/single transaction (Fagan v MPC – ar first, R v Church – mr first);
Consequence - causation
