Automatism is never a defence

The central aim of this article is to set out and justify the contention that automatism is never a defence, not even exceptionally. Where D is not at fault for her lack of voluntariness, the term ‘automatism’ is simply a shorthand explanation that D does not satisfy an essential element of every offence: voluntary conduct. Where D is at fault for her lack of voluntariness, the automatism rules (within the current law) become an inculpatory tool through which to substitute the missing offence elements and construct liability. Having recognised that automatism plays an inculpatory role within the law, we analyse this role and conclude that it is defective: prior fault automatism lacks the equivalent blameworthiness necessary to fairly substitute for even missing basic intent offence elements. It is from here that we discuss the possibility of a new automatism offence, to recognise the criminal blameworthiness of D’s conduct in certain cases, but to do so in a coherent manner that appropriately criminalises and labels the defendant. Looking at the outline of the potential new offence we are in a much better position to evaluate the future role of automatism in the criminal law. If we do not believe that such an offence is deserving of criminalisation, then the current law must be changed to prevent prior fault automatism constructing liability under any circumstances. If we do believe that such an offence has a place within the criminal law, then the current law should be changed to reflect this more clearly, and we must focus on exactly how it should be defined

[Review] Matthew Dyson, James Lee and Shona Wilson Stark (2016) Fifty years of the Law Commissions the dynamics of law reform

Fitting to a modern-day Law Commission publication, this collection of essays is rather lengthy (some 39 chapters over 400 pages), but it has been built to last. From conference to collection, the editors have brought together a strikingly impressive range of contributors, including past and present Commissioners, Chairs of the Law Commissions, Chief Executives, as well as independent academics and parliamentarians. Marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission, the collection offers something of a celebration of the Commissions’ good works, but principally stands as a unique insight into the dynamics (personal and institutional) of a cherished reform institution

Labour process theory and critical management studies

Labour Process Theory (LPT) is conventionally and rightly listed as one of the analytical resources for Critical Management Studies (CMS). Yet, the relationships between the two have been, in the words of a classic of the former, a contested terrain. This is hardly surprising. Even if we set aside the inevitable multiplicity of perspectives, there is a tension in potential objects of analysis. Before CMS burst on to the scene, LPT was being criticised at its peak of influence in the 1980s for paying too much attention to management and too little to capital(ism) and labour. This was sometimes attributed to the location of many of the protagonists (in the UK at least) in business schools, but was, more likely a reflection of wider theoretical and ideological divides

Criminal Law Reform Now: a new reform network

Academics and other legal researchers have always played a valuable role in the reform of criminal law, both through critique of the current law as well as through advocating reform options. There is no doubt that the expertise of legal researchers can contribute to better reforms of the law, and it is a position that carries obvious attractions for the researcher as well. Particularly for those of us who focus our research on identifying unfairness and incoherence within the current system, the opportunity to contribute to the betterment of the law, to use our work to improve that system, may be one of our principal motivations. It is also an activity, increasingly, that is being supported by universities and funding bodies, not least because of the emergence and growth of ‘impact’ requirements within the Research Excellence Framework (REF). Yet the role of the lone legal researcher within the dynamics of law reform remains difficult to identify, and even more difficult to realise in practice. It is on this topic that we contribute this short paper to the SLS Special Issue of the Journal of Criminal Law, and we also take the opportunity to introduce a new national reform network, the Criminal Law Reform Now Network (CLRN Network) that we will be launching in 2017

Attacks on the mind and the legal limits of the seduction industry

This chapter explores consciously manipulated sexual ‘consent’ from legal, psychological, and philosophical perspectives. As a prism through which to explore these issues, the paper looks at the lucrative ‘seduction industry’, with a particular focus on courses which purport to teach single men how to ‘programme’ women in the pursuit of sexual ‘consent’. Sitting between the extremes of consent by hypnosis, and consent by charm, we ask whether (and how) the law should engage with such activity, and what, if anything, this phenomenon tells us about the nature of consent. We analyse techniques of programmed consent over three parts. In Part A we discuss attacks on the mind in general terms, exploring the extent to which the law protects against mental manipulations. In Part B we focus on the seduction industry, and the detail of the claims made about their techniques. Finally, in Part C, we discuss how the current law (in the sexual context at least) could be used to protect victims’ mental integrity, whether the techniques attempted for programming consent are successful or not

John Dupre

John Dupre recently retired after 25 years as State Director of Nutrition Programs for the State of Louisiana.https://egrove.olemiss.edu/icn_ohistories/1003/thumbnail.jp

The Case of the Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church, as to the rights of trustees, and the power of a court of law to compel them, by Mandamus to admit a minister appointed according to the Discipline of their church

Condette Jean-François. 93) COUAT Henri Auguste . In: , . Les recteurs d'académie en France de 1808 à 1940. Tome II, Dictionnaire biographique. Paris : Institut national de recherche pédagogique, 2006. pp. 122-123. (Histoire biographique de l'enseignement, 12

Gravitational Radiation from First-Order Phase Transitions

It is believed that first-order phase transitions at or around the GUT scale will produce high-frequency gravitational radiation. This radiation is a consequence of the collisions and coalescence of multiple bubbles during the transition. We employ high-resolution lattice simulations to numerically evolve a system of bubbles using only scalar fields, track the anisotropic stress during the process and evolve the metric perturbations associated with gravitational radiation. Although the radiation produced during the bubble collisions has previously been estimated, we find that the coalescence phase enhances this radiation even in the absence of a coupled fluid or turbulence. We comment on how these simulations scale and propose that the same enhancement should be found at the Electroweak scale; this modification should make direct detection of a first-order electroweak phase transition easier.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure