Citation

Mackay RD. Med. Sci. Law 2015; 55(3): 150-155.

Affiliation

Leicester De Montfort Law School, De Montfort University, United Kingdom rdm@dmu.ac.uk.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, British Academy of Forensic Sciences, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0025802414566373

PMID

26378105

Abstract

The automatism defence has been described as a quagmire of law and as presenting an intractable problem. Why is this so? This paper will analyse and explore the current legal position on automatism. In so doing, it will identify the problems which the case law has created, including the distinction between sane and insane automatism and the status of the 'external factor doctrine', and comment briefly on recent reform proposals.

Language: en