Exam Revision

Question 1

Gross negligence manslaughter - R v Rose

Answer 1

1. D owed a DOC
2. D negligently breached it
3. It was reasonably foreseeable
4. The breach caused death
5. Breach was so bad it amounted to gross negligence

Question 2

U and D act manslaughter

Answer 2

1. Unlawful act
2. Was dangerous
3. That act caused the death of the victim - AG’s ref 3

Question 3

An unlawful act that a reasonable person would think would risk some harm, albeit not serious harm

Answer 3

Church

Question 4

Criticisms of Unlawful and dangerous act manslaughter

Answer 4

1. Offence is too broad
2. To label a person who envisaged no more than a battery a manslaughterer is disproportionate and unfair
3. Breaches principle of correspondence
4. An extreme form of constructive liability (grossly exaggerates the amount of culpability)
5. Attributes too much weight to chance of whether someone commits a battery and faces 6 months or life imprisonment

Question 5

Peter Sparks argument

Answer 5

The defence of diminished responsibility is flawed. D’s mental abnormality ahould be a complete defence if it is the reason they killed or no defence at all if they would’ve killed anyway.

Question 6

Loss of control - coroners and justice act 2009 s54

Answer 6

1. D lost self control
2. Caused by a qualifying trigger of fear of serious violence, things done or said of grave character creating a justifiable sense of being wronged.
3. A person of D’s age or sex with a normal degree of tolerance and self restraint would have reacted the same in D’s circumstances

Question 7

If D acts out of a desire for revenge the defence will fail

Answer 7

Loss of control - s54 c&j 2009

Question 8

Slow burn anger response

Answer 8

Ahluwalia - loss of control

Question 9

Sexual Infidelity cannot be a thing done or said in loss of control

Answer 9

S55(6) c&j 2009

Question 10

The loss of control need not be sudden

Answer 10

S54(2) c&j 2009

Question 11

Baker and Zhao argument

Answer 11

Sexual infidelity should not be considered at all in loss of control not even as context

Question 12

Andrew Ashworth argument

Answer 12

The ladder principle demands the proportionate wrongfulness of the offence should be pointed out by the label attatched to that offence. Accurate labelling promotes transparency.

Question 13

Law commission consultation paper 2005

Answer 13

Proposed separating murder into 2 degrees. 1st (intention to kill) and 2nd (intention to do gbh)

Question 14

Lord Steyn in Powell

Answer 14

Including intention to do gbh in murder turns it into a constructive crime. A person who only intended gbh is not ‘in truth’ a murderer

Question 15

Mandatory life sentence criticism

Answer 15

1. Different murders have different degrees of culpability
2. Intention to cause gbh does not seem fair to always be a life sentence

Question 16

Indirect intent - Woolin

Answer 16

Virtually certain and D knew it

Question 17

Intention to do GBH

Answer 17

Smith

Question 18

Unlawful killing if a human being under the kings peace with malice aforethought in any country of the realm

Answer 18

Sir Edward Coke

Question 19

Death occurs at brain death

Answer 19

Malcherek

Question 20

Killing is not unlawful if it was done in self defence

Answer 20

Beckford

Question 21

Diminished Responsibility c&j act 2009 s52

Answer 21

1. Abnormality of mental function
2. From a recognised medical condition
3. Substantially impaired D’s ability to understand their conduct, form a rational judgement and excercise self control
4. Provides an explanation for the killing

Question 22

Voluntary acute intoxication is not capable of beong relied on for diminished responsibility

Answer 22

R v Dowds

Question 23

Self defence is a common law defence

Answer 23

Duffy

Question 24

Self defence covers unjustified attacks/threats to oneself or others

Answer 24

Williams Gladstone

Question 25

The Imminence requirement of self defence is gendered

Answer 25

Protects men in one time adversarial encounters more than women

Question 26

Law commission 2004 recommendation on self defence

Answer 26

It is insufficient to weigh the weapons used in each side; sometimes there is an imbalance in size and strength

Question 27

Celia Wells

Answer 27

Behind the defence of self defence is the stereotype of one to one, man to man violence

Question 28

Assault

Answer 28

D intentionally or recklessly causes V to apprehend imminent and unlawful force

Question 29

Assault can be done by gestures, word, silence

Answer 29

Ireland v Burstow

Question 30

Battery

Answer 30

The intentional or reckless infliction of unlawful force

Question 31

S47 assault occasioning abh

Answer 31

There must be an assault or battery which occassions abh

Question 32

Occasions = causes

Answer 32

Roberts

Question 33

Actual bodily harm = any hurt or injury which interferes with health or comfort

Answer 33

Donovan, Miller

Question 34

Section 20, GBH

Answer 34

D must unlawfully wound or inflict GBH

Question 35

Gbh = very serious harm

Answer 35

DPP v Smith

Question 36

Maliciously = intentionally or recklessly

Answer 36

Cunningham

Question 37

Herrings argument on rape

Answer 37

A man who has sexual intercourse with another knowing that that person would not be agreeing if they knew the truth is using that person for his own ends. It is the “sheer use of another person”. It should be rape”.

Question 38

Gross’ view on rape

Answer 38

“the criminal law cannot be used to teach moral lessons or to raise the moral consciousness of those whose views may be in need of moral uplift”.

Question 39

Sharpe’s view on gender deception

Answer 39

non-disclosure of gender is not deceptive; doesn’t think the harm or offence suffered warrants criminalisation; and Sharpe that gender history ought not to be viewed as a material fact serving to vitiate consent

Question 40

Edwards argument

Answer 40

Women who use weapons do so to arm themselves against disproportionate male strength