''R v Blaue'' (1975) 61 Cr App R 271 is an English criminal law appeal in which the Court of Appeal decided, being a court of binding

precedent A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...

thus established, that the refusal of a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

to accept a blood transfusion after being stabbed did not constitute an intervening act for the purposes of legal causation. This upheld the decision of Mocatta in the court below.

Facts and legal processes

The defendant entered the home of an 18-year-old woman and asked for sex. When she declined his advances, he stabbed her four times; one wound penetrated her lung which necessitated both a

blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but mo ...

and surgery to save her life. After refusing treatment because of her religious beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness, she died. The prosecution conceded that she would not have died if she had received treatment. The prosecution did not challenge unrelated evidence that the defendant was suffering from

diminished responsibility In criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental func ...

which reduced murder to manslaughter, decreasing the starting point for any sentencing. Examined in his case, counsel for the Crown accepted the refusal to have a blood transfusion was a cause of the death. The defence argued that the refusal to accept medical treatment broke the chain of causation (in modern comparative and ancient law in Latin this is called a ''novus actus interveniens'') between the stabbing and her death.

Appeal as to homicide on the basis of causation

The defence and court system saw an appeal heard within 9 months, with its judgment pronounced a month later, and did not dispute the second-count wounding conviction (resulting from a separate charge).

Lawton LJ Sir Frederick Horace Lawton (21 December 1911 – 3 February 2001) was a British barrister and judge who served as Lord Justice of Appeal from 1972 to 1986. Early life and career Frederick Lawton was born in Wandsworth, London, the son of Wi ...

(the most senior judge on the panel) ruled that, as a matter of

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

, "those who use violence on others must take their victims as they find them," invoking the thin-skull rule. The defendant's conviction of manslaughter was upheld.

References

{{caselaw source , case = R v Blaue (1975) 61 Cr App R 271 , vlex = https://vlex.co.uk/vid/r-v-blaue-793165165 B 1975 in England 1975 in case law Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases Jehovah's Witnesses litigation 1975 in British law Christianity and law in the 20th century Medical lawsuits

Facts and legal processes

Appeal as to homicide on the basis of causation

See also

References