Automatism

Automatism
In Bratty v Attorney-General for Northern Ireland (1963) automatism was clearly defined.
Automatism description An act do by the muscles without any control by the mind, such as a spasm, a reflex litigate or a convulsion; or an act done by a person who is not conscious of what he is doing such as an act done whilst suffering from blow or whilst sleep-walking.
In fact this covers two types of automatism:
Insane automatism This is where the shake up of the automatism is a disease of the mind within the MNaghten Rules. In such a case the defending team is insanity and the verdict not guilty by reason of insanity.
Non-insane automatism This is where the cause is an extraneous one. Where such a defence succeeds, it is a complete defence and the defendant is not guilty.
Non-insane automatism This is a defence because the actus reus done by the defendant is not voluntary. In addition the defendant does not have the required mens rea for the offences.
The case of the automatism must be outdoor(a).



Examples of external causes include:
A blow to the head
An attack by a swarm of bees
Sneezing
Hypnotism
The effect of a drug
This concept of no mistake when the defendant was in an automatic state through an external cause was ratified in pile v Baxter (1958)
Hill v Baxter (1958) Defendant drove through a have got sign without stopping, and collided with another car. He was charged with dangerous movement but acquitted by the magistrates who accepted that he remembered zippo from some distance before reaching the halt sign. The divisional Court allowed the prosecutions appeal and remitted the case keystone to the magistrates with a direction to convict as there was no evidence to support a defence of automatism.
The court approved the judgment in the earlier case of Kay v Butterworth (1945) where the examine said:
A person should not be make liable at the criminal law who, through no fault of his own, becomes unconscious when driving, as, for example, a...If you want to get a bountiful essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com



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