How Laws are Applied Differently | WJEC Criminology | Unit 2 | AC 1.2 Revision
Summary
TLDRThis video explores how laws are applied differently in various circumstances as part of WJC Level 3 Applied Criminology. It focuses on Unit 2, Assessment Criteria 1.2, examining cases where laws may not be applied due to mitigating circumstances such as diminished responsibility, consent, self-defense, or automatism. These partial defenses explain situations where individuals lack control over their actions or intent to commit a crime. The video discusses legal frameworks and real-world examples, emphasizing how courts evaluate these defenses to determine the extent of an individual's guilt or innocence.
Takeaways
- 📜 Laws are applied differently based on circumstances surrounding the crime.
- 🕵️♂️ Mitigating circumstances can excuse individuals from full criminal responsibility.
- 🧠 Diminished responsibility is often used in cases of murder to reduce charges to manslaughter.
- 🏛️ The Homicide Act of 1957 establishes the basis for diminished responsibility based on abnormal mental functioning.
- 🔍 Medical experts often play a key role in court to determine the extent of a person's mental condition.
- 🤝 Consent can serve as a defense, especially in non-fatal offenses, though it can be complex in murder cases.
- ⚖️ The 'rough sex defense' was rejected in high-profile cases, such as the Grace Millane case.
- 🛡️ Self-defense allows individuals to use reasonable force to protect themselves or their property.
- 🔪 The use of weapons in self-defense is illegal in England and Wales and is not considered reasonable force.
- 🤖 Automatism can be used as a defense if the individual acted involuntarily due to either insane or non-insane causes.
Q & A
What is the focus of this video on criminology?
-The video focuses on how laws are applied differently based on the circumstances in which crimes are committed, as outlined in assessment criteria 1.2 of Unit 2 for WJEC Level 3 Applied Criminology.
What are mitigating circumstances in criminology?
-Mitigating circumstances are situations where individuals may not have control over their actions, or their intent was not to commit a crime, such as cases involving self-defense, diminished responsibility, or automatism.
What is diminished responsibility, and how does it affect criminal charges?
-Diminished responsibility is applied when individuals suffer from abnormal mental functioning or medical conditions that impair their ability to understand or control their actions. It can reduce a murder charge to manslaughter.
How does consent play a role in criminal defense?
-Consent can be used as a defense, particularly in non-fatal offenses, by establishing that the criminal act occurred with the victim's agreement. However, this defense may be rejected in certain cases, such as the 'rough sex defense' which was rejected in the Grace Millane case.
What is self-defense, and how is it legally justified?
-Self-defense allows individuals to use reasonable force to protect themselves, others, or their property from harm or criminal actions. However, the use of weapons like guns or knives is not considered reasonable force in England and Wales.
What is automatism, and how is it categorized in law?
-Automatism refers to involuntary actions where an individual is not in control of their body or mind. It is categorized as either insane automatism (caused by psychological conditions) or non-insane automatism (caused by external factors such as a bee sting).
What distinguishes insane automatism from non-insane automatism?
-Insane automatism is caused by internal factors like psychological conditions, while non-insane automatism is triggered by external factors, such as an allergic reaction or a physical event like a bee sting.
What role do courts play in applying these partial defenses?
-Courts assess the extent to which defenses like diminished responsibility, consent, self-defense, and automatism apply, often with input from medical experts. The court ultimately decides whether the defense is valid in each case.
What happens if a person is found to have used excessive force in self-defense?
-If the force used is deemed excessive or unreasonable by the court, the self-defense claim may not be accepted, and the individual could still be prosecuted for their actions.
Can the use of automatism completely absolve someone from responsibility for their actions?
-Not necessarily. While automatism may be a partial defense, the court will evaluate the circumstances and the source of the involuntary action. It may not always lead to a full acquittal.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to Criminological Theories and Laws
This paragraph introduces the video, focusing on the assessment criteria for criminological theories. It highlights how laws are applied differently based on the circumstances surrounding a crime. It briefly touches on topics previously covered, such as how laws vary between cultures and over time, and transitions to the main focus of the video: examining the application of laws in specific situations, particularly when mitigating circumstances exist. The concepts of diminished responsibility, consent, self-defense, and automatism are introduced as key defenses in criminal law.
🧠 Diminished Responsibility in Criminal Law
This paragraph explains how diminished responsibility is used as a defense in criminal cases, particularly in reducing murder charges to manslaughter. It refers to the Homicide Act of 1957, which allows defendants suffering from mental abnormalities to avoid a murder conviction. The paragraph elaborates on how mental conditions affecting rationality, self-control, or understanding of actions are assessed in court, often with the help of medical experts. The defense hinges on proving that the accused’s mental condition significantly impaired their ability to commit the crime with intent.
📝 The Defense of Consent in Criminal Law
This section covers the defense of consent, which may apply when criminal acts are committed with the victim’s agreement, particularly in non-fatal cases. Although rare in murder cases, an example is given of the 'rough sex defense' in the high-profile Grace Millane case. The defendant argued that Millane consented to actions leading to her death, a defense rejected by New Zealand courts. The paragraph also mentions how this type of defense was addressed in the UK’s Domestic Abuse Act of 2021, reflecting the complexities of consent in legal defenses.
🛡️ Self-Defense in Law: Reasonable Force
This paragraph discusses self-defense as a partial defense in cases of physical violence. It explains that individuals are legally permitted to use reasonable force to defend themselves, protect their property, or prevent criminal activities. However, the extent of what constitutes 'reasonable force' is determined by the court. The use of weapons in self-defense is considered unreasonable under English law. The paragraph underscores that while self-defense can reduce charges, it does not excuse criminal actions if excessive or illegal force is used.
🤖 Automatism: Involuntary Actions and the Law
The final section explores automatism as a defense in criminal cases, where individuals act involuntarily due to factors beyond their control. Automatism is classified as either insane or non-insane, depending on the cause. Insane automatism involves internal psychological conditions like psychosis, while non-insane automatism is triggered by external factors, such as an allergic reaction or injury. The paragraph emphasizes that while automatism can be a defense, it is classified by the source of involuntary behavior and doesn’t always fully absolve the defendant of responsibility.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Mitigating circumstances
💡Diminished responsibility
💡Consent
💡Self-defense
💡Automatism
💡Homicide Act of 1957
💡Reasonable force
💡Partial defense
💡Insane automatism
💡Non-insane automatism
Highlights
Laws are applied differently according to the circumstances in which a crime was committed.
Mitigating circumstances may lead to the law not being applied, especially if individuals lack control over their actions or intent.
Partial defenses can be used to excuse actions, including diminished responsibility, consent, self-defense, and automatism.
Diminished responsibility is often applied in cases of murder, leading to a lesser charge of manslaughter under the Homicide Act of 1957.
The accused may avoid a murder charge if suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning or a medical condition that impaired their ability to understand or control their actions.
Medical experts often testify in court to assess the impact of the accused's condition on their actions.
Consent can serve as a defense if the criminal act occurred due to consensual behavior between the victim and the accused.
In murder cases, the 'rough sex defense' has been used but was notably rejected in the Grace Millane case in New Zealand.
The UK Domestic Abuse Act of 2021 specifically addresses the use of consent as a defense in cases of sexual violence.
Self-defense can be used as a partial defense in cases involving physical violence, allowing reasonable force to counter an attack.
Reasonable force can also be used to protect property, prevent crime, or apprehend offenders.
The court determines what constitutes reasonable force, but using weapons like knives or guns is not considered reasonable in England and Wales.
Automatism is a defense where the accused acted involuntarily, either due to a psychological or external factor.
Insane automatism arises from internal factors like psychosis or hallucinations, while non-insane automatism stems from external factors like allergic reactions.
These defenses argue that the individuals lacked a guilty mind or intent, but their application is at the court's discretion and may not fully pardon the accused.
Transcripts
welcome to the Tor to you criminology
video for wjc level 3 applied
criminology in this video we're going to
look at assessment criteria 1.2 of unit
2 on criminological theories looking at
how laws are applied differently
according to
circumstances in previous videos in this
series we've looked at how laws differ
from culture to culture and how they
differ over time and now we need to
examine how these laws are applied
differently based upon the C
circumstances in which the crime was
committed in everyday practice all
individuals are subject to the rule of
law but there are occasions when the law
is not applied to individuals who have
committed a
crime this is usually in the case of
mitigating
circumstances that is where individuals
do not have control of their actions or
their intent is not to commit a crime or
they are defending
themselves whilst individuals may still
be charged with criminal behaviors
partial defenses are put forward to
excuse their actions these include
diminished responsibility consent
self-defense and
automatism in this video we're going to
look at these
reasons firstly diminish
responsibility this is often applied in
cases where individuals would have been
charged with murder and instead a lesser
charge of manslaughter is applied the
homicide Act of 1957 is the basis for
this application with it referencing
individuals being unable to be convicted
of murder if they are suffering from
abnormality of mental functioning or if
death was caused by the accused having a
medical condition that led to an act or
a mission that caused the death of the
victim this means that if the accused
has a condition that impairs their
ability to understand what they are
doing or to make rational judgments or
to exercise self-control that they
cannot be prosecuted for murder unless a
charge of manslaughter is levied on the
individual the extent of how the
condition is impacted on their actions
is ascertained in court often through
the use of medical experts as
Witnesses a second way in which the law
might not be applied is due to
consent this is based upon establishing
that the act that was criminal occurred
as a result of consenting Behavior
between the victim and the
accused while as defens is a general
defense and can be used for all offenses
especially non-fatal ones he's also been
used in murder
cases whilst not in the UK one of the
most high-profile of these cases was the
murder of Grace
melan whereby the accused pleaded what
was called the rough sex defense as
Milan died of injury sustained during
sexual intercourse that she had
consented to according to the
defendant this defense was rejected by
courts in New Zealand and has recently
been included in the Domestic Abuse Act
of 2021 in the
UK a third reason for the law not being
applied is
self-defense this is used as a partial
defense against charges of physical
violence by a
defendant a person is legal allowed to
use reasonable Force to Counterattack or
defend themselves from Attack that would
result in injury or
death they can also use reasonable Force
to protect their property prevent others
from committing criminal actions or it
can be used to apprehend criminal
offenders such as restraining somebody
who is committing an
assault the extent of what is considered
reasonable force is determined by the
court but the use of weapons is illegal
in England and Wales and so defending
oneself with a weapon such as a knife or
a gun is not seen as being reasonable
force a final reason for the law not
being applied is
automatism this is where the individuals
committing the ACT have responded in an
involuntary manner that is they are not
in control of their body or
mind this is a partial defense and can
be classified as either insane or
non-insane automatis
M this categorization relies upon the
source of an individual's involuntary
control if it's due to a psychological
condition that is classed as an internal
factor and hence is seen as being insane
automatism for example crimes committed
when experiencing hallucinations or
going through a period of
psychosis non-insane automatism is
impacted by external
factors for example losing control of a
vehicle due to du to being stung by a
bee or having an allergic reaction to a
food source and therefore is classed as
non-insane
automatism these four reasons are often
applied as it can be suggested that
individuals are incapable of having a
guilty mind and or intend to commit a
crime the extent to which these defenses
can be applied is decided by the court
and is not guaranteed to pardon the
individual from their
actions
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