CRIM 230 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Eggshell Skull, Indictable Offence, Homicide

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Criminology
• Course: CRIM 230
• Professor: Tamara O' Doherty

Document Summary

Causation is a legal issue for both criminal and civil law: civil law: relevant to proving a connection between the legal wrongdoing (ar in. See michael clayton or erin brokovitch for examples for proving causation in civil cases. Key issue is proving the ar element of most criminal offences is causation: proof that the a(cid:272)(cid:272)used"s a(cid:272)t led to the p(cid:396)ohi(cid:271)ited (cid:272)o(cid:374)se(cid:395)ue(cid:374)(cid:272)es. Chain of causation is the link between the initial act and the illegal consequences: broken down in 2 parts. Factual causation looking at the details of the case, did the accused contribute (medically, mechanically or physically) to the consequences. Crown must prove the accused conduct, the prohibited would not have occurred. Factual causation is only the first stage of a two stage process. Factual causation alone would result in absurd results (see chart for details) Generally, courts will only hold people legally accountable where the prohibited consequences were foreseeable. Fi(cid:396)st issue: p(cid:396)o(cid:448)i(cid:374)g death o(cid:272)(cid:272)u(cid:396)(cid:396)ed afte(cid:396) the a(cid:272)(cid:272)used"s (cid:272)o(cid:374)du(cid:272)t.