fatal offences: involuntary manslaughter - unlawful act manslaughter Flashcards
what is unlawful act manslaughter?
where the D commits an unlawful act, which the reasonable person would recognise exposes the V to a risk of some harm and the V dies as a result
which 4 elements must be satisfied for a D to be guilty of UAM?
- D must do an unlawful act
- the act must be objectively dangerous
- the act must cause the death
- the D must have the MR of the unlawful act
what precedent does Franklin give?
the act must be a crime, not a tort
what precedent does Lamb give?
the D does not have to intend or foresee a risk of death from their actions; they just have to satisfy the AR and MR of the unlawful act
what precedent does Lowe give?
UAM cannot be satisfied through an omission, only a positive act
what precedent does Church give?
the unlawful act must amount to a dangerous act
what is the definition of a dangerous act?
an act where a sober and reasonable person would recognise the risk of some harm from the D’s conduct
what precedent does Bristow give?
it does not matter that the D did not realise their conduct was dangerous, as long as the reasonable and sober person would realise it
what precedent does Dawson give?
if the V had a vulnerability of which the D was unaware, the reasonable and sober person would have been unaware too
what precedent does Watson give?
if the V had an obvious frailty, a reasonable and sober person would be aware of it, as the D would be aware of it too
what precedent does JF and NE give?
the objectively dangerous test does not take into account the age and mental capacity of the D
what precedent does JM and SM give?
the reasonable and sober person has to foresee a risk of some harm and not a specific type of harm
what precedent does Larkin give?
the objectively dangerous test does not have to be aimed at the V
what precedent does Goodfellow give?
the objectively dangerous test can be aimed at property
what precedent does Attorney General Reference (No. 3 of 1994)(1998) give?
the D’s conduct must be the cause of death
what precedent does Attorney General Reference (No.3 of 1994) give?
the usual rules of causation apply to UAM
what precedent does Dalby give?
in drug related cases where the D supplies or prepares drugs, but the V administers it themselves, the D is not liable for their UAM
what precedent does Cato give?
if the D administers the drug, they are liable for UAM
what are the components of the MR for UAM?
the D must have the MR for the unlawful act (Lamb)
the rules of transferred malice can apply to UAM (Mitchell)
it is irrelevant if the D did not foresee or intend the harm caused from their unlawful act…all that matters is that they satisfy the mens rea (Newbury and Jones)
