Legal Definition and Related Resources of Automatism

The involuntary movement of the body or limbs of a person and in criminal law proof of automatism necessarily negates the required intent.

Browse or run a search for Automatism in the American Encyclopedia of Law, the Asian Encyclopedia of Law, the European Encyclopedia of Law, the UK Encyclopedia of Law or the Latin American and Spanish Encyclopedia of Law.

Automatism in Historical Law

You might be interested in the historical meaning of this term. Browse or search for Automatism in Historical Law in the Encyclopedia of Law.

Search for legal acronyms and/or abbreviations containing Automatism in the Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms Dictionary.

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Automatism in Law Enforcement

Main Entry: Law Enforcement in the Legal Dictionary. This section provides, in the context of Law Enforcement, a partial definition of automatism.

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See Also

• Law Enforcement Officer
• Police Officer
• Law Enforcement Agency

Further Reading

• automatism in A Dictionary of Law Enforcement (Oxford University Press)
• automatism in the Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement
• A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis

English Legal System: Automatism

In the context of the English law, A Dictionary of Law provides the following legal concept of Automatism :

Unconscious *involuntary conduct caused by some external factor. A person is not criminally liable for acts carried out in a state of automatism, since his conduct is altogether involuntary. Examples of such acts are those carried out while sleepwalking or in a state of concussion or hypnotic trance, a spasm or reflex action, and acts carried out by a diabetic who suffers a hypoglycaemic episode. Automatism is not a defence, however, if it is self-induced (for example, by taking drink or drugs). When automatism is caused by a disease of the mind, the defence may be treated as one of *insanity. Mere absent-mindedness, even when brought about by a combination of, for example, depression and diabetes, is not regarded as a defect of reason under the defence of *insanity. It may, however, be grounds for concluding that the accused was not capable of having the necessary *mens rea at the time of the offence.

Meaning of Automatism

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