Cases - initial material 3. - posted by Lauren

posted by Lauren.

As our theme was the idea of the 'unknown' and telling the story under 2 or 3 different perspectives. Our performance was based on a court battle.
I have found some cases relevant to our group piece.

The case of R v Pagett (1983)- In this case a man walked out side with a gun whilst using his pregnant girlfriend as a shield. He shot at the police, in which the police had no choice but to retaliate and fire back, killing the pregnant women. You could say that because the police killed her it's their fault however 'BUT FOR' the defendants  actions would she have been killed? The answer is no. The defendant was found guilty.

R v White (1910)

The defendant put some poison in his mother's milk with the intention of killing her. The mother took a few sips and went to sleep and never woke up. Medical reports revealed that she died from a heart attack and not the poison. The defendant was not liable for her murder as his act of poisoning the milk was not the cause of death. He was liable for attempt.

This case established the 'but for' test. I.E would the result have occurred but for the actions of the defendant? If the answer is yes the defendant is not liable.