Diminished responsibility

Question 1

What type of defence is diminished responsibility?

Answer 1

Partial and specific to murder

Question 2

What section of what Act defines diminished responsibility?

Answer 2

S2 of the Homicide Act (as amended by Coroners and Justice Act 2009)

Question 3

What does S2 of the Homicide Act (as amended by Coroners and Justice Act 2009) say?

Answer 3

A person will not be convicted of murder if: D was suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning arising from a recognised medical condition as to substantially impair D’s ability to understand the nature of his conduct, or form a rational judgement or exercise self control and provides an explanation for D’s acts/omissions in being party to the killing

Question 4

Who was the burden of proof when trying to prove diminished responsibility and what is the standard of proof?

Answer 4

D has the burden of proving the defence on the balance of probabilities

Question 5

What is the leading case for abnormality of mental functioning?

Answer 5

Byrne

Question 6

What legal principle came out of the case of Byrne?

Answer 6

AoMF is a state of mind so different to that of an ordinary human being that the reasonable man would term it abnormal

Question 7

What must the abnormality of mental functioning arise from?

Answer 7

A recognised medical condition

Question 8

Give 3 examples of a physical recognised medical condition

Answer 8

Diabetes, epilepsy, sleep walking

Question 9

Give 3 examples of a mental recognised medical condition

Answer 9

Depression, schizophrenia, OCD

Question 10

Which case demonstrates paranoid personality disorder?

Answer 10

Martin

Question 11

Which case demonstrates battered women’s syndrome?

Answer 11

Ahluwalia

Question 12

Which case demonstrates depression?

Answer 12

Seers

Question 13

Which case demonstrates post natal depression?

Answer 13

Boots

Question 14

Which case demonstrates extreme stress?

Answer 14

Brown

Question 15

Which case demonstrates schizophrenia?

Answer 15

Edgington

Question 16

What does Di Duca say about the immediate effects of alcohol and drugs?

Answer 16

That they do not amount to a RMC

Question 17

What is the legal principle from the case of Wood?

Answer 17

ADS/DDS is a RMC

Question 18

What is the legal principle from the case of Tandy?

Answer 18

If persistent drug/alcohol abuse leads to brain damage, this is a RMC

Question 19

Give 3 examples of symptoms of ADS

Answer 19

Desire to drink
Difficulty controlling when and how much you drink
Neglecting other activities

Question 20

Abnormality of mental functioning must impair D’s ability to do one of three things, what are they?

Answer 20

1) Understand the nature of his conduct
2) Form rational judgement
3) Exercise self control

Question 21

In what case was ‘substantially’ explained in?

Answer 21

Golds

Question 22

What is ‘substantially’ explained as in the case of Golds?

Answer 22

As whether any impairment made a real difference to D’s conduct

Question 23

What does S2(1)(b) of Homicide Act 1957 (as amended by CJA ‘09) state?

Answer 23

The abnormality of mental functioning provides an explanation for D’s conduct if it causes or is a significant contributory factor in causing D to carry out that conduct

Question 24

Which case demonstrates S2(1)(b) of Homicide Act 1957 (as amended by CJA ‘09)?

Answer 24

Dietschmann

Question 25

What legal principle came out of Dietschmann?

Answer 25

That when there was more than one factor causing D to kill, the abnormality has to be a significant contributory factor to D’s conduct