CM -involuntary manslaughter Flashcards
What is involuntary manslaughter a type of?
It is a type of homicide
What is the definition of involuntary manslaughter?
The unlawful killing of a human being under the queens peace without malice afterthought
What is the maximum for involuntary manslaughter?
Life imprisonment but a judge can give a lesser sentence
What are the 3 types of involuntary manslaughter?
Constructive manslaughter
Gross negligence
Reckless
What is the three stage test for constructive manslaughter?
- unlawful positive criminal act
- act must have caused the death
- the act must be a dangerous one
The act must be a criminal one - which case was not criminal therefore not CM?
R V Franklin 1983
What was R V Franklin about?
D threw a large box off Brighton pier which was a civil wrong
What examples are criminal acts?
Assault Battery Theft Robbery Burglary Administering of obnoxious substances under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 S23
What case demonstrates a lack of criminal act?
R V Lamb 1967
What was R V Lamb about ?
Lamb shot his friend , he aimed and pulled the trigger both men thought it would not fire. V did not fear the gun so there was no assault, no crime and therefore no constructive manslaughter
Which case demonstrated an unlawful criminal act for CM?
R v Larkin 1943
What is R v Larkin 1943 about?
Larkin threatened another man with a razor for chatting up his girlfriend. The other mans girlfriend swayed up against the razor and she was cut and died- this was CM because there was an assault even if D didn’t intend on killing the girlfriend
Which case was about negligence but not CM because it was an omission?
R v Lowe 1973
Which case demonstrates the act does not have to be aimed at the victim or even at a person?
R V Mitchell 1983
What was R V Mitchell 1983 about?
Mitchell was involved in a fight in a post office - he pushed someone who fell into an elderly woman who died - guilty of involuntary manslaughter
Which case demonstrates that it doesn’t have to be aimed at a person?
R v Goodfellow 1986
What is R V Goodfellow about?
D tried to firebomb his own house so that he could be rehoused by the council, his family were inside who were killed . Guilty of CM because act was dangerous and unlawful
What must there be in CM?
There must be causation and no novus actus interveniens
What is Cato 1976 about?
Two druggies injected drugs into each other - one of them died , D was convicted of CM for administering obnoxious substances
What is R v Dalby about ?
D supplied drugs but did not inject them therefore there was an intervening act - not guilty
What was Dias 2002 about ?
D prepared a syringe , he and V both Injected , D woke to find v Ill, v was taken to hospital who died , D’s conviction was quashed
Which case was D not
Convicted because they only prepared and handed over the drugs but did not administer them to V?
R v Kennedy 2007
Which case caused confusion regarding Kennedy because they said that self injection does not necessarily mean the chain is broken ?
Mac Angus and Kane v HM Advocate 2009
Is the test to whether an act is dangerous subjective or objective?
Objective