Doc Brief

RIGHT, WRONG AND CAPABLE

As the evidence suggests that the incidence of youth crime continues to grow, all those involved with youthful miscreants have some interest in knowing what capacity this possesses for engaging in criminal litigation. Before the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (CDA 1998), s 34 came into force, there was a presumption of law that a child aged 10 and over but below the age of 14 was doli incapax, that is, it did not know that some act or omission it had been charged with was seriously wrong. It was then up to the Crown to displace this presumption by proving not only the acteus reus and mens rea of the alleged offence, but also that the child charged with what had been alleged knew it was seriously wrong.

In doing this the Crown was not permitted to rely on the evidence of the alleged offence but had to seek and