Disclaimer: This work was produced by one of our expert legal writers, as a learning aid to help law students with their studies.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of LawTeacher.net. Any information contained in this case summary does not constitute legal advice and should be treated as educational content only.

R v Burgess – 1991

282 words (2 pages) Case Summary

07 Mar 2018 Case Summary Reference this LawTeacher

Jurisdiction / Tag(s): UK Law

R v Burgess [1991] 2 WLR 1206

Acquittal by virtue of insanity where accused committed crime whilst sleep-walking

Facts

The appellant (B) was charged with wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm. His defence was that during the event he was sleep walking and suffering from non-insane automatism. However, the judge ruled that on the medical evidence available the only defence available was insanity. The jury found B not-guilty by reason of insanity.

Issues

On appeal, B argued that automatism should not be considered insanity. The Crown argued that B suffered from an abnormal state of mind and it was irrelevant how it arose. The Court accepted that there was a failure in B’s mind which caused him to act as he did. The key issue was therefore whether that failure was a disease of the mind or, rather, a defect or failure of the mind not due to disease.

Decision/Outcome

B’s appeal was dismissed. The Court found that the failure in B’s mind was due to an abnormality which manifested itself in violence and might recur. This amounted to a disease of the mind and the trial judge’s application of insanity as a defence was therefore correct. In particular, the Court noted the absence of obvious external factors (such as, for instance, concussion) which could have caused the failure in B’s mind. The Court adopted the reasoning of the Supreme Court of Canada in Rabey v the Queen [1980] 2 S.C.R. 513 and found that any malfunctioning of the mind which has its source in some condition or weakness internal to the accused may be a ‘disease of the mind’ and, accordingly, a finding of insanity may follow.

LawTeacher

LawTeacher

LawTeacher.net is the UK’s leading provider of academic legal support, offering both writing services and an extensive collection of law study resources for students in the UK and overseas.

Founded in 2003 by Grey’s Inn graduate Barclay Littlewood, the Company was built on a commitment to excellence, with unique guarantees and a high standard of service from day one.

The team includes over 500 UK legally qualified writing experts, with many practising solicitors and barristers, and several former lecturers.

Areas of Legal Expertise

Contract Law Criminal Law Constitutional and Administrative Law EU Law Tort Law Property Law Equity and Trusts Jurisprudence Company Law Commercial Law Family Law Human Rights Law Employment Law Evidence Public International Law Legal Research and Methods Dispute Resolution Business Law and Practice Civil Litigation Criminal Litigation Professional Conduct Taxation Wills and Administration of Estates Solicitors’ Accounts

Cite This Work

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below:

Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.

Related Services

View all

Related Content

Jurisdictions / Tags

Content relating to: “UK Law”

UK law covers the laws and legislation of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Essays, case summaries, problem questions and dissertations here are relevant to law students from the United Kingdom and Great Britain, as well as students wishing to learn more about the UK legal system from overseas.

Related Articles

Prices from

£ 99

Estimated costs for: Undergraduate 2:2 • 1000 words • 7 day delivery

Place an order

Delivered on-time or your money back

Reviews.co.uk Logo (292 Reviews)

Rated 4.2 / 5

Give yourself the academic edge today

Each order includes

  • On-time delivery or your money back
  • A fully qualified writer in your subject
  • In-depth proofreading by our Quality Control Team
  • 100% confidentiality, the work is never re-sold or published
  • Standard 7-day amendment period
  • A paper written to the standard ordered
  • A detailed plagiarism report
  • A comprehensive quality report