H Flashcards
What are M’Naghten’s rules?
The M’Naghten’s rules establish whether a defendant is insane based on their ability to think rationally, so that if a person is insane they were acting under such a defect of reason from a disease of the mind that they did not know:
* The nature and quality of their actions, or
* That what they were doing was wrong.
M’Naghten’s rules are often used in legal contexts to assess criminal responsibility.
List four statutory legal duties under the Crimes Act 1961.
Duties defined by the Crimes Act 1961 include:
* Provide the necessaries and protect from injury (s151)
* Provide necessaries and protect from injury to your charges as a parent or guardian (s152)
* Provide necessaries as an employer (s153)
* Use reasonable knowledge and skill when performing dangerous acts, such as surgery (s155)
* Take precautions when in charge of dangerous things, such as machinery (s156)
* Avoid omissions that will endanger life (s157).
These duties reflect both statutory and common law obligations.
What is the difference between counselling or attempting to procure murder and conspiracy to murder?
Differences include:
* Counselling or attempting to procure murder applies only if the offence is to be committed in New Zealand, while conspiracy to murder can occur in New Zealand or elsewhere.
* Counselling or attempting to procure murder applies only if murder is not committed, whereas conspiracy to murder applies regardless of whether murder is committed or not.
This distinction is important in legal definitions and prosecution.
What defines when a child becomes a human being under the Crimes Act 1961?
A child becomes a human being when it has completely proceeded in a living state from the body of its mother, regardless of breathing, independent circulation, or whether the navel string is severed.
This is outlined in Section 159(1) of the Crimes Act 1961.
What constitutes homicide according to Section 158 of the Crimes Act 1961?
Homicide is the killing of a human being by another, directly or indirectly, by any means whatsoever.
This definition is provided in Section 158 of the Crimes Act 1961.
What does Section 159(2) state about the killing of a child?
The killing of a child is homicide if it dies in consequence of injuries received before, during, or after birth.
This is part of the provisions of Section 159 of the Crimes Act 1961.
What was held in R v Mane regarding accessory to murder?
For a person to be an accessory, the offence must be complete at the time of the criminal involvement; one cannot be convicted of being an accessory after the fact of murder if the actus reus was completed before the homicide was completed.
What are the ingredients of infanticide according to Section 178 of the Crimes Act 1961?
- A woman causes the death of any child of hers under the age of 10 years
- In a manner that amounts to culpable homicide, and
- At the time of the offence
- The balance of her mind was disturbed
- By reason of her not having fully recovering from the effects of giving birth to that child or any other, or
- by reason of the effects of lactation, or
- by any reason of any other disorder as a result of child birth or lactation,
- Is guilty of infanticide, not murder or manslaughter, and liable to imprisonment for up to 3 years.
This is detailed in Section 178 of the Crimes Act 1961.
What does R v Myatt state about unlawful acts in relation to Section 160(2)(a) of the Crimes Act 1961?
Before a breach of any Act, regulation or bylaw can be considered an unlawful act under Section 160 for culpable homicide, it must be an act likely to cause harm to the deceased or to a class of persons of which the deceased was one.
What were the key issues formulated in R v Tomars?
- Was the deceased threatened by, in fear of, or deceived by the accused?
- Did such threats, fear, or deception cause the deceased to do the act that caused their death?
- Was the act a natural consequence of the accused’s actions?
- Did the victim’s foreseeable actions contribute significantly to his death?
These issues guide the legal assessment of culpability in the context of influence and consequence.
What is the general rule regarding criminal responsibility for killing another by influence of the mind?
No one is criminally responsible for the killing of another by any influence of the mind except for:
Wilfully frightening a child under 16 years of age and sick persons.
What are the exceptions to the rule of criminal responsibility for killing by influence of the mind?
- Wilfully frightening a child under 16 years of age
- Wilfully frightening a sick person (mentally or physically)
These exceptions are outlined in Section 163.
What does Section 163 state about killing by influence on the mind?
No one is criminally responsible for the killing of another by any influence on the mind alone, except by wilfully frightening a child under 16 or a sick person.
This section also addresses disorders or diseases arising from such influence.
What is meant by the term ‘justified’ in legal context?
Acts that are exempt from both criminal and civil liability.
Examples include homicide committed in self-defense and homicide to prevent serious injury.
Provide two examples of acts that are considered ‘justified’.
- Homicide committed in self-defense (s48)
- Homicide committed to prevent suicide or serious injury (S41)
These acts are viewed as lawful despite resulting in death.
Why is attempted murder difficult to prove under the Crimes Act 1961?
R v Murphy
When proving an attempt to commit an offence it must be shown that the accused’s intention was to commit the substantive offence. For example, in a case of attempted murder it is necessary for the crown to establish an actual intent to kill.
What are the ingredients to accessory after the fact to murder?
Knowing any person to have been party to murder and:
* Receives
* Comforts
* Assists
* Tampering with or actively suppressing evidence against that person
This is in order to enable the person to escape after arrest or to avoid conviction.
Define the term ‘Suicide Pact’ according to s180(3) Crimes Act 1961.
A common agreement between 2 or more persons for the death of all of them, whether or not each is to take his own life
Nothing done in pursuance of the pact is valid unless done with the settled intention of dying in pursuance of the pact.
What was the outcome of the case R v Forrest & Forrest?
The men successfully appealed their convictions on the grounds that the Crown had not adequately proved the girl’s age
The best evidence possible in the circumstances should be adduced by the prosecution in proof of the victim’s age.
How do New Zealand Courts deal with a defence of Automatism arising out of taking alcohol and/or drugs?
Courts are likely to allow a defence of automatism for offences of basic intent only
The defence may be disallowed if the state of mind is self-induced, the person is blameworthy, and the consequences could have been expected.
List the ingredients of Section 48 of the Crimes Act 1961.
Everyone is justified in using, in the defence of themselves or another, such force as, in the circumstances as they believe to be, reasonable to use.
What was held in R v Ranger regarding reasonable doubt?
If the accused believed their life was in peril, the jury could entertain a reasonable doubt about the reasonableness of a pre-emptive strike with a knife.
List three guidelines in respect of consent regarding assault.
- Everyone has a right to consent to a surgical operation.
- Everyone has a right to consent to the infliction of force not involving bodily harm.
- No one has a right to consent to their death or injury likely to cause death.
True or False: A person can consent to bodily harm in a prize fight.
False
No one has the right to consent to bodily harm that amounts to a breach of the peace or in a prize fight.
What is uncertain regarding consent to danger?
It is uncertain to what extent any person has a right to consent to being put in danger of death or bodily harm by the act of another.
Name four circumstances that can support allegations of culpable homicide.
- Committing arson
- Giving a child an excessive amount of alcohol to drink
- Placing hot cinders and straw on a drunk person to frighten them
- Supplying heroin to the deceased
Fill in the blank: Culpable homicide may occur when a victim jumps or falls out of a window because they think they are going to be _______.
assaulted
Provide an example of culpable homicide caused by the victim’s actions prompted by threats.
Jumps into a river to escape an attack and drowns.
