PPT-Defenses for the Accused: Automatism

By Angela MacKay What is Automatism The term automatism describes unconscious involuntary behaviour The legal rules governing the use of automatism evidence vary with the cause of the automatism which may be disease of the mind intoxication or some other circumstances . Automatism. Lesson Objectives. I will be able to explain the meaning of the defence of automatism. I will be able to distinguish between insane and non-insane automatism. I will be able to explain cases that illustrate the defence of automatism. 6 types of criminal defense. Insanity. Intoxication. Ignorance. Age. Entrapment. Justification. Insanity. Defendant’s state of mind negates his/her criminal responsibility.. “Not guilty by reason of insanity.”. Type of . defence. Rarely used . defense. . Definition . Automatism is the state of acting without being aware/without control over one's muscles. In other words, it is the denial that the . actus. Defence. Once an accused pleads not guilty to a criminal charge they must provide a defence.. Defence. : a denial of, or a justification for, criminal behaviour. .. Denial. : is the most common used defence.. Those who are accused are not required to present a defense. They can simply force the government to prove its case.. DNA Evidence. A “fairly” recent scientific development that can help prove a defendant is guilty.. Forensic Session 4. Curriculum Links. 12.2. Psychiatry and the. Criminal Justice System. 12.2.2. Psychiatric defences: fitness to plead,. mutism and deafness, criminal responsibility, diminished responsibility, amnesia and automatism. to Charges. I didn’t do it!. What is a Defense . A defense is a lawful excuse, explanation or circumstance that can be used by an accused person to argue that he or she is not guilty of an offence.. General. D must show that act was:. Involuntary. ; and. Due to an . external factor. Automatism was . not self-induced. An . Involuntary. Act. D’s . mind is not controlling his limbs . in a purposeful manner. Insanity. M’Naghten. 1843. Daniel . M’Naghten. had become so obsessed with the then Prime Minister, Robert Peel, that he decided to shoot him. . Instead, he missed and shot and killed the Prime Minister’s secretary, Edward Drummond.. Automatism. Automatism. For automatism to work as a defence, the actions of the defendant must be completely . involuntary.. Bratty -v- Attorney General for Northern Ireland (1963). “an act done by the muscles without any control by the mind, such as a spasm, a reflex action or a convulsion; or an act done by a person who is not conscious of what he is doing such as an act done whilst suffering from concussion or whilst sleep walking”.. Critically evaluate any two general defences (insanity, automatism, intoxication, consent, self-defence/prevention of crime). Suggest what reforms may be desirable to one of the defences that you have evaluated. (25 marks). and . intoxication. Insanity. M’Naghten. 1843. Daniel . M’Naghten. had become so obsessed with the then Prime Minister, Robert Peel, that he decided to shoot him. . Instead. , he missed and shot and killed the Prime Minister’s secretary, Edward Drummond.. Patrick Healy* This article begins by briefly tracing the development of automatism in Canadian criminal jurisprudence. Most re- cently, R. v. Stone is remarkable not only for the pronounce- ments of Automatism Two Types of Automatism • Insane Automatism , where the cause of the automatism is a disease of the mind, an internal one within the M’Naughten Rules. In such a case the defence