LS202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Mental Disorder, Actus Reus, Intoxication Defense
11 Apr 2016
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Avoid conviction by raising a positive/true defence (excuses/justifications of offending act) Necessity, duress, automatism, intoxication, mental disorder, self-defence. Defence allowed if offence is morally/physically involuntary. If ability to form intent is impaired/impossible, or if act was justified. Common law defence, casts doubt on mens rea/fault element if advanced intoxication affect foresight of consequences. Specific intent: offences with heightened mental element requires more complex thought and reasoning ex; murder, robbery, attempts evidence of intoxication always relevant capacity vs. actual intent changed to evaluating actual intent to commit offence. General intent: crimes of minimal thought reasoning ex; manslaughter, assaults, etc. intoxication not a defence. When extreme intoxication produced a state akin to automatism = would render an accused incapable of their performing a willed act/forming min. intent required.
