Criminal Defences | AQA A-Level Law (7162)

Criminal Defences

74 questions
5 subtopics
Paper 1: Criminal law
Paper 1

The capacity defences of insanity, automatism and intoxication, and the necessity defences of self-defence and duress..

It covers insanity and the M'Naghten Rules, wrongness, Burden of Proof and Automatism, intoxication, Specific and Basic Intent, self-Defence and the Prevention of Crime and duress and Its Limits.

Sample questions from Criminal Defences

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Insanity and the M'Naghten Rules

Under the M'Naghten Rules, what alternative cognitive failures can satisfy the test?

Show the answer
The defendant either did not know the nature and quality of their act, or did not know the act was wrong.
Insanity and the M'Naghten Rules

What condition affecting the brain was held to constitute a disease of the mind in R v Kemp?

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Arteriosclerosis.
Wrongness, Burden of Proof and Automatism

What must cause the defendant's involuntary act for automatism to apply?

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An external cause.
Wrongness, Burden of Proof and Automatism

Why was hypoglycaemia caused by insulin injection treated as automatism in R v Quick rather than insanity?

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Because the cause was external (the insulin injection) rather than internal.
Intoxication, Specific and Basic Intent

What mens rea requirement characterises specific intent crimes?

Show the answer
They require proof of intention as the mens rea.
Intoxication, Specific and Basic Intent

To which types of crime may involuntary intoxication provide a defence?

Show the answer
Both specific intent and basic intent crimes, if it prevents the defendant from forming the required mens rea (R v Kingston).
Self-Defence and the Prevention of Crime

Is the first limb of self-defence assessed subjectively or objectively?

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Subjectively—the defendant must have genuinely believed that the use of force was necessary, even if that belief was mistaken.
Self-Defence and the Prevention of Crime

Is there a legal duty to retreat before using force in self-defence?

Show the answer
No, there is no duty to retreat, though the possibility of retreat is a factor the jury may consider when assessing whether force was necessary.

The 5 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Insanity and the M'Naghten Rules	Recall questions on the verdict that follows, the case the rules derive from and the elements that must be proved.	13
Wrongness, Burden of Proof and Automatism	Recall questions on whether wrong means legal or moral, where the burden lies for insanity, and what automatism requires and produces.	10
Intoxication, Specific and Basic Intent	Recall questions on which offences fall into each category, the mens rea sufficing for basic intent, and the effect of voluntary intoxication.	17
Self-Defence and the Prevention of Crime	Recall questions on the effect of the defence, when it is available, its relationship with the statutory power and the two-stage test.	14
Duress and Its Limits	Recall questions on the Graham test for duress by threats, the characteristics allowed under Bowen, the threat and its immediacy, why duress cannot excuse murder, voluntary association, duress of circumstances and necessity.	20

Criminal Defences is 74 of the 2,352 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £7

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.