“A person intends the natural and probable consequences of their acts.”
Smith was a police officer who was dragged along by a car driven by the defendant who was trying to escape after being caught stealing. Smith fell under the wheels and was killed. The defendant claimed he did not intend to kill or cause grievous bodily harm.
Whether intention should be determined by what the reasonable person would have contemplated as the natural and probable consequence of the defendant's acts, or by the defendant's actual intention.
The House of Lords dismissed the appeal. A person intends the natural and probable consequences of their acts, judged by the standard of the reasonable person.
This case established a controversial objective test for intention that was later modified by s.8 Criminal Justice Act 1967 and subsequent cases like Hancock. It demonstrates the evolution of the law on intention in criminal cases.
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OSCOLA Citation
DPP v Smith [1961] AC 290 (HL)
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