Citation

Kopelman MD. Med. Sci. Law 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, British Academy of Forensic Sciences, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/00258024221108554

PMID

35726186

Abstract

Definitions of automatism abound - legal and clinical. In Bratty versus Attorney General for Northern Ireland, 1963 (1AC, 386), Lord Denning defined automatism as 'an act which is done by the muscles without any control by the mind such as a spasm, a reflex action or a convulsion; or an act done by a person who is not conscious of what he is doing such as an act done while suffering from concussion or while sleepwalking.' More recently, in R. versus Coley (2013) (EWCA 223), the England and Wales Appeal Court gave this definition: 'The essence of it is that the movements or actions of the defendant at the material time were wholly involuntary. The better expression is complete destruction of voluntary control … Examples which have been given in the past include the driver attacked by a swarm of bees or a man under hypnosis. 'Involuntary' is not the same as 'irrational'; indeed it needs to be sharply distinguished from it.' Rumbold and Wasik1 made the point that: 'The term automatism is used in medicine to denote repetitive, stereotyped actions, usually in the context of complex epileptic seizures. Legal automatism encompasses a whole range of more complex actions,….where the accused has no capacity on grounds of…involuntariness.'

Clinically, the presence of amnesia is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for automatism. Fenwick2 defined automatism as 'an involuntary piece of behaviour over which an individual has no control. The behaviour itself is usually inappropriate to the circumstances, and may be out of character for the individual. It can be complex, coordinated and apparently purposeful and directed, though lacking in judgement. Afterwards, the individual may have no recollection, or only partial and confused memory for his actions.' Bourget et al.3 and Yeo4 both argued that involuntariness and lack of control are much more important features of automatism than the precise level of consciousness (or lack of it). Kopelman5 adopted an essentially pragmatic, descriptive definition, which was 'an abrupt change in behaviour in the absence of conscious awareness or memory formation associated with certain, specific clinical disorders.' These included epilepsy, parasomnias, hypoglycaemia and head injuries...

Language: en

Keywords

Automatism; clinical medicine/psychiatry; concept/definition; dissociation; law commission; law/legal