Law - Omissions

• R v stone and Dobinson - duty taken voluntarily

  Facts

  • D. Refused to feed Fanny (older sister).Became bedridden and incapable of caring for herself and died from malnutrition

  Legal principle:

  • Failure to take care of her they were in breach of their duty
• What are the six exceptions?

  • A statutory duty
  • A contractual duty
  • A duty through relationship
  • A duty undertaken voluntarily
  • A duty through an official position
  • A duty taken on duty to defendant setting in motion
• Contractual duty

  when a person fails to do a job that’s required of them as part of some sort of contract
• contractual duty - r v pitwood

  • Crossing keeper omitted to shut the gates - person crossing was struck and killed by train keeper was guilty of manslaughter
  • Failure to do his duty makes him guilty of an offence
• R v gibbins and proctor - relationship

  • kept child separate from other children and starved to death - both charged with murder
  • Failure to feed the girl was enough for the AR of murder
• R v evans

  • Her sister bought her and gave it to victim who self injected- v had overdose and they put her to sleep - died and both didn’t try to get medical help
  • D had created a state of affairs which she knew or reasonably to have known was threatening the life of me and therefore owed her a duty
• R v Dytham - official position

  • police officer saw a man being thrown outside nightclub didn’t do anything about it- d to buy standard that he was going off duty left the scene
  • Guilty of wilfully and without reasonable excuse neglecting to perform his duty
• R v Miller - defendant set in motion chain of events

  • D smoked a cigarette fell asleep and awoke to find his mattress on fire. Did not attempt to put it out or someone help and went into another room fell back to sleep
  • Failure or omission to put out the fire meant that he committed the ar for arson
• DPP v Santa Bermudez

  • D failed to tell police officer there was a needle in his pocket - officer got injured
  • failure to police officer was enough for the actus reus of an assault causing actual bodily harm
• airedale NHS Trust v Bland

  • d in permanent vegetative state and doctors switched off life machine
  • Held to be in his best interests
• R v Khan and Khan

  • Court of appeal for the defendant could be liable for failing to some medical assistance to a user who collapsed after being supplied heroine despite their conviction for unlawful act manslaughter