Understanding criminal law docx

[...]... while the idea of a socially produced concept of intention has proved elusive Lacey’s solution is for scholars of criminal law to adopt a greater commitment to socio-legal analysis In the meantime, the definition contained in cl 18(b) of the Draft Criminal 17 18 Understanding criminal law Code appears to express clearly what the House of Lords and the Court of Appeal have failed to on no less than... purpose in punishing blameless people? Strict liability is unjust It is unjust that someone who has behaved impeccably could be convicted of a criminal offence and acquire a criminal record 25 26 Understanding criminal law Negligence is sufficient The imposition of criminal liability on the basis of negligence for regulatory offences would achieve a better balance between protecting the public and treating... the balance of decision making power from the lay participants in the criminal justice system to the professional lawyers Of course, the validity of an appeal to ‘ordinar y language’ depends on the as yet unanswered empirical question of to what extent do shared understandings inform the linguistic usage employed by the criminal law As Nicola Lacey points out, the cour ts have attempted to establish... that abstract conceptual form is very helpful to a jury Obviously, if a member of the House of Lords finds such difficulty in understanding the complexities of the Caldwell direction, there might be little hope for the average juror (or law student!) 19 20 Understanding criminal law Judicial disquiet with Caldwell recklessness does not appear to be limited to its sheer complexity, but also extends to... to intention reveals an attempt to establish a similar compromise solution 13 14 Understanding criminal law Direct intention The concept of direct intention appears to represent something of a fusion between conceptual analysis and widely shared everyday meanings As Smith and Hogan note (Smith, JC and Hogan, B, Criminal Law, 8th edn, 1996, p 57): Everyone agrees that a person intends to cause a result... act will continue for as long as the defendant is about the business of committing or covering up the crime (R v Le Brun (1991)) Ignorance or mistake of law Ignorance of the criminal law is no defence, but a mistake of civil law may be a defence to a criminal charge, provided it negates the mens rea for the offence in question (R v Esop (1836); R v Smith (1974)) Chapter 3 Incitement, conspiracy and... only be a question of time before Caldwell and Lawrence would be overruled and the concept of recklessness limited to conscious risk taking However, in R v Reid (1992), the House of Lords specifically refused to do this and strongly endorsed the ethical reasoning of Lord Diplock in both Caldwell and Lawrence to the effect that responsibility in criminal law should extend beyond those who appreciate... to steer the law in this direction if they are so minded Unfortunately, so far, the Court of Appeal has refused to modify Caldwell recklessness even in cases where it would appear that the defendant, through no fault of his own, is incapable of appreciating the sort of risk which a reasonable person would have foreseen in the same situation (R v Coles (1995)) 21 22 Understanding criminal law Summary... confused and law reform is urgently required Setting the Boundaries (July 2000), a Home Office Consultation Paper marks the first stage of the reform process, but at the time of writing, there is no indication of resulting draft legislation Arguments for strict liability Harm prevention The main purpose of the criminal law is to prevent harmful activity It is therefore illogical to confine criminal liability...4 Understanding criminal law onus of proving insanity beyond reasonable doubt; proof on a balance of probabilities will suffice (R v Carr-Briant (1943)) In the case of other defences, such as non-insane automatism, provocation, duress and self-defence, the law usually requires that the defendant produce some credible evidence to . class="bi x0 y0 w0 h1" alt="" Understanding criminal law Understanding criminal law Dr Roger Geary, LLB, PhD, PGCE Head of Law, Swansea Law School Swansea Institute. Cataloguing in Publication Data Geary, Roger Understanding criminal law 1 Criminal law – England 2 Criminal law – Wales I Title 345.4'2 Library of