When determining whether a defendant "did the act or made the omission charged" for the purposes of the Trials of Lunatics Act 1883, the Crown was required to prove the ingredients which constituted the actus reus of the crime but, where insanity was accepted, the defendant's state of mind ceased to be relevant and the Crown was not required to prove the mens rea of the crime.

CA (Crim Div) (Judge LJ, Sachs J, Klevan J)

25/03/1999