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Causation in Criminal Law Cases

The document discusses factual and legal causation in criminal cases. For factual causation, the defendant's act must make a difference between the consequence occurring or not occurring ("but for" test). In R v White, the son was not liable for murder as his mother died of a heart attack before the poison could take effect, but he was liable for attempted murder. For legal causation, the defendant's act must be a substantial and operative cause of the consequence. In R v Dalloway, the driver was not holding the reins but this was not deemed the legal cause of death. The defendant's contribution must be substantial to be the legal cause, as in R v McKechnie where delayed

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79 views2 pages

Causation in Criminal Law Cases

The document discusses factual and legal causation in criminal cases. For factual causation, the defendant's act must make a difference between the consequence occurring or not occurring ("but for" test). In R v White, the son was not liable for murder as his mother died of a heart attack before the poison could take effect, but he was liable for attempted murder. For legal causation, the defendant's act must be a substantial and operative cause of the consequence. In R v Dalloway, the driver was not holding the reins but this was not deemed the legal cause of death. The defendant's contribution must be substantial to be the legal cause, as in R v McKechnie where delayed

Uploaded by

Abdullah Shaikh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

FACTUAL CAUSE

If the consequence would not have happened but for the defendant’s act have happened. Similarly, an
omission is the factual cause of the consequence if it would not have happened but for defendant’s
failure to act.

H.L.A Hart an event or act which makes the difference between something happening and something
not happening.

R V White

White was held liable for the death of his mother, because she had died because of the heart attack,
before the poison which was given to her has begun to work, by the White.

The son therefore was not held liable for the murder, but he was still liable for an Attempted murder,
because the death was linked to poison, but due to heart attack.

R V Dyson

The child died because severe injuries suffered by his father, he was also suffering the meningitis. the
father argued that the child would also die before long, as he was forming the meningitis. He appealed
that he was not the but for (factual cause) cause of the child’s death since the child would have died
soon because of the meningitis.

It is not necessary to show that thew defendant was the sole cause of the death as long as his actions
accelerated the time when death would otherwise occur.

R V Morby causation by omission

Father did not take the child to hospital as he said that it was against the religious believe. The child was
suffering from the small pox and vaccination was yet introduced.

The father was not held liable for manslaughter because the child would have died anyway since there
was no treatment was introduced at that time, for small pox.

LEGAL CAUSE

The defendant must be the substantial and operative cause of the consequence.

The legal cause is also known as the assignable, imputable and attribute cause.

R V Dalloway

A driver, Dalloway was charged for driving his cart in a negligent fashion and subsequently causing the
death of the child, as he was not holding the reins of the cart.

The fact that the defendant was not holding the reins, and defendant would be the factual cause, but he
was not the legal cause of death.

R V Hughes: The SC ruled that D’s act must be the substantial cause of the result.
R V Adams

To be the legal cause of a criminal harm, the defendant’s contribution to the result must be substantial,
although it need not to be the sole cause.
if the Defendants was significantly contributed in the consequence, so the defendant would be held
liable for the criminal harm.

R V McKechnie

A man was suffering with ulcer but could be remove it via operation but it was delayed due to injuries
sustained caused by the Defendant. Ulcer got poisoned and the V died.

It was held that operation was in fact delayed because of the beating as anesthesia could not be given
because of the initial beating and so it was the defendant who was liable.

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