Fatal Offences

Question 1

What is the definition of murder?

Answer 1

The unlawful killing of a reasonable person under the King’s peace with malice aforethought express or implied.

Question 2

What are the requirements of actus reus of murder?

Answer 2

1. Defendant killed - positive act or omission R v Miller
2. Killing was unlawful means there’s no defence
3. Killing of human being - not a foetus AG Ref v Malcherek
4. Killing took place under the King’s peace- can’t be killing of an enemy in the course of war R v Blackman

Question 3

What is the factual causation for murder?

Answer 3

But for test - but for D’s actions V would still be alive R v Pagett

Question 4

What is the Legal causation for murder?

Answer 4

The D must be more than a minimal cause R v Smith
New intervening act which breaks chain of causation
1. Medical intervention R v Cheshire/Jordan/Deer
2. V’s own actions R v Roberts/ Williams
Thin skull rule- must take V as they find them R v Blaue

Question 5

What is the mens rea for murder?

Answer 5

Express- intention to kill
Implied- intention to cause GBH R v Vickers

Direct intent- D intends specific consequence to occur R v Mohan
Indirect intent- Was death or serious injury a virtual certainty and did D appreciate that such was the case R v Woolin

Transferred Malice- Mr transferred from intended V to unintended V R v Latimer If Mr for different crime malice not transferred

Question 6

What is Voluntary Manslaughter and what are the two types?

Answer 6

Partial defence to murder and to be charged with it D must have committed the actus reus and mens rea for murder and there must be a causal link between the D’s acts and the death.
Diminished Responsibility and Loss of control

Question 7

What act sets out the defence of diminished responsibility

Answer 7

s52 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Question 7

What must the D demonstrate for a defence in DR?

Answer 7

1. Must be an abnormality of mental functioning- a state of mind so different from that of the ordinary human being being that the reasonable man would term it abnormal R v Byrne
2. D must be suffering from a recognised medical condition e.g depression R v Gittens
3. That substantially impairs D’s ability to do one of three things: R v Lloyd
   Understand nature of their conduct
   Form a rational judgement
   Exercise self control
4. Provides an explanation for D’s acts or omissions

Question 8

What is the situation of a recognised medical condition and intoxication?

Answer 8

Intoxication alone cannot support a defence of DR as not considered abnormality of mental functioning but where it has caused brain damage the brain damage/ injury can be a RMC.

Question 9

What Act sets out the defence of loss of control?

Answer 9

s54 Coroners and Justice 2009

Question 10

What is the first stage of the 3 part test for loss of control?

Answer 10

1. D must lose control (1) (b) i)when D lost the ability to maintain their action in accordance with considered judgement
   ii) That the D lost their normal powers of reasoning
   iii) That the D’s behaviour was very out of character and normally they wouldn’t have acted in this way.
   D must have really lost it or snapped- R v Jewell

Question 11

What is the second stage of the 3 part test for loss of control?

Answer 11

Because of a qualifying trigger
S55(3) CJA - Fear trigger- Ds fear of serious violence from the V, whether or not that fear was reasonable R v Ward
S55(4) CJA- Anger trigger- Something V did or said that constituted circumstances of an extremely grave character and caused D to have justified sense of being wronged R v Bowyer

Question 12

What is the final stage of the 3 part test for loss of control?

Answer 12

s54(1) (c) - A person of the same sex and age with a normal degree of tolerance might have reacted in the same way R v Camplin

Question 13

What is involuntary manslaughter and what are the two types?

Answer 13

Occurs when D lacks mens rea for murder. They had no intention to kill and may not have intention to harm the victim.
Unlawful Act Manslaughter and Gross negligence manslaughter

Question 14

What is the definition of unlawful manslaughter ?

Answer 14

Liability built up from a lesser crime e.g if someone intended to commit an armed robbery and killed someone

Question 15

What two things must you prove first for unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 15

1. Positive Act-must not be an omission R v Lowe
2. Unlawful Act -must be a crime not a civil wrong R v Franklin
   Unlawful act does not need to be directed at the victim R v Mitchell
   Unlawful act does not need to be directed at the person R v Goodfellow
   All of the elements of the unlawful act manslaughter must be present in order for the for D tob guilty R v Lamb

Question 16

What is the 3rd thing to prove for unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 16

3)Unlawful Act should be dangerous - reasonable person would recognise that the act of D would cause the other person some harm but the D does not need to foresee exact type of harm R v Church
There must be a risk of physical harm not emotional upset R v JM and SM

Question 17

What are the final 2 requirements of unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 17

4)Causing the death of the victim. Courts apply factual and legal causation. Rv Kennedy(Vs own actions) and R v Cato
5)The positive act be done with the necessary mens rea don’t need to realise act was unlawful DPP v Newbury

Question 18

What is the definition for Gross Negligence manslaughter?

Answer 18

Negligence means acting carelessly but actions must be so bad they are considered criminal

Question 19

What is the case that sets out the essential elements for Gross negligence?

Answer 19

Adomako

Question 20

What is the first requirement for Gross Negligence Manslaughter?

Answer 20

Duty of care need to be established e.g Parent and child, teacher and student, employer for employee and motorist and other road users
R v Singh R v Wacker R v Stone & Dobinson

Question 21

What is the second, third, fourth and fifth requirement of Gross Negligence

Answer 21

2) Breach of duty objective test- reasonable person Blyth v Birmingham waterworks
3) At time of breach there was a serious and obvious risk of death
4) Reasonably foreseeable at the time of the breach of duty that the breach gave rise to a serious and obvious risk of death R v Broughton
5) Causing the death- causation applied

Question 22

What is the final requirement for Gross negligence ?

Answer 22

The breach must be gross- was negligence so bad in all circumstances as to amount to a criminal act or omission in eyes of jury R v Bateman
Breach so bad it risked death R v Misra and Srivstava