Criminal Law

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Criminal Law

Michealmas Term Essay 1

Questions about causation are simple factual ones.  Therefore juries require no direction in answering them. Discuss

Causation is an element of ‘Result Crimes’, in which the conduct itself does not constitute a crime, for example, shooting a gun, but rather the conduct along with it’s harmful consequence, for example, shooting a gun at a person and the person dying. It is this gap between the conduct and harmful result, which gives rise to the uncertainty as to who’s conduct caused the harmful result, and even if the harmful result was due to a human action, or just a natural event.

When determining the chain of causal events leading up to a result, only the facts are relevant. However, once the causes are determined, principles of law must be applied to identify which of these causal acts were unlawful, as a person cannot be convicted for an innocent act. Therefore, causation is a question of fact and law.

The main method for identifying causes to a harmful result is the ‘But-For’ test, with which all actions but for which the harmful result would not have occurred, are causes of the result.

In the majority of cases, questions of causation are simple, even in homicide cases where the burden of proof lies on the prosecution. For example (1.0), if A shoots B, and B drops dead on the spot, it does not have to be proven that it was the bullet from A’s gun entering B’s heart and preventing blood carrying oxygen to the body, which caused death, as it is obvious.

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Questions of causation become complicated when there is no obvious, direct single cause to a harmful result. In such cases, there can be an infinite number of ‘but-for’ causes, tracing back to the actions of Adam and Eve. The jury have to determine the significance of the defendant’s actions in relation to the result. The ‘Reasonable-Foresight Principle’ states that significant causes are these actions which a reasonable person could foresee resulting in the harm. For example (1.1), a guest at a Halloween party is so frightened by the costume of a new guest, they jump off the apartment balcony, ...

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