Seminar 15 - Criminal- Insanity and Automatism - Alf by Claire Turner https://padlet.com/claire43/dj8tux586gf2 en-us 2018-11-08 12:03:33 UTC 2025-09-28 14:17:59 UTC hello@padlet.com Alf suffered from a rare blood disorder that could cause severe blackouts. His doctor prescribed powerful tablets to counteract the effect of the disorder. One morning Alf woke up in his girlfriend’s flat to find that she had been strangled. Evidence establishes that:(a) Alf strangled her whilst in a state of unconsciousness, as a result of which he was totally unaware of his actions;(b) Alf took twice the dosage of tablets prescribed by his doctor;(c) The medical evidence is inconclusive as to whether Alf’s unconsciousness was caused by the blood disorder or the tablets. Alf has been charged with the manslaughter of his girlfriend. claire43 https://padlet.com/claire43/dj8tux586gf2/wish/1135639675 2021-01-28 10:27:15 UTC https://padlet.com/claire43/dj8tux586gf2/wish/1135639675 Part 1: Outline the defence of insanity and apply it to this scenario. Is Alf likely to be successful in this defence and what effect will this have on his liability? claire43 https://padlet.com/claire43/dj8tux586gf2/wish/1135641110 2021-01-28 10:27:44 UTC https://padlet.com/claire43/dj8tux586gf2/wish/1135641110 Part 2: Outline the defence of automatism and apply it to this scenario. Is Alf likely to be successful in this defence and what effect will this have on his liability? claire43 https://padlet.com/claire43/dj8tux586gf2/wish/1135642233 2021-01-28 10:28:06 UTC https://padlet.com/claire43/dj8tux586gf2/wish/1135642233 Part 3: In A-G’s Reference (No 2 of 1992) [1994] QB 91, a HGV driver was on the motorway when he steered onto the hard shoulder and continued to drive down it until he hit a broken-down vehicle, killing two people. He had been driving for several hours and admitted that he felt tired and might have fallen asleep. His defence was automatism, based on expert evidence of a condition of ‘driving without awareness’, following long exposure to monotonous motorways. It was held that: ‘the defence of automatism required a total destruction of voluntary control by the defendant, and reduced or partial control was insufficient to found the defence; that, since someone "driving without awareness" retained some control in being able to steer the vehicle and usually to react and return to full awareness when confronted by significant stimuli, the issue of automatism should not have been left to the jury’.• claire43 https://padlet.com/claire43/dj8tux586gf2/wish/1135643603 2021-01-28 10:28:34 UTC https://padlet.com/claire43/dj8tux586gf2/wish/1135643603 Link to Prezi claire43 https://padlet.com/claire43/dj8tux586gf2/wish/2023034028 2022-02-01 10:23:28 UTC https://padlet.com/claire43/dj8tux586gf2/wish/2023034028 Link to article claire43 https://padlet.com/claire43/dj8tux586gf2/wish/2454394934 2023-01-24 09:33:22 UTC https://padlet.com/claire43/dj8tux586gf2/wish/2454394934 claire43 https://padlet.com/claire43/dj8tux586gf2/wish/2454409329 2023-01-24 09:46:01 UTC https://padlet.com/claire43/dj8tux586gf2/wish/2454409329