title: An anatomy of automatism.
abstract: The automatism defence has been described as a quagmire of law and as presenting an intractable problem. Why is this so? This paper will analyse and explore the current legal position on automatism. In so doing, it will identify the problems which the case law has created, including the distinction between sane and insane automatism and the status of the 'external factor doctrine', and comment briefly on recent reform proposals.
authors.affiliation: Leicester De Montfort Law School, De Montfort University, United Kingdom rdm@dmu.ac.uk.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Mackay
mesh_terms: D001332:Automatism / Q000523:psychology*; D003416:Criminal Law; D006801:Humans; D007298:Insanity Defense; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: automatism; external factor doctrine; insanity