Homicide

Question 1

What are the actus reus requirements of murder?

Answer 1

unlawful killing, of a reasonable person in being, within the Queen’s Peace (Sir Edward Coke)
Causation (factual and legal)

Question 2

What are the mens rea requirements of murder?

Answer 2

malice aforethought which can be assessed through intention to kill or intention to cause GBH

Question 3

Which case established that an unborn child cannot be a person in being for the AR requirements of murder?

Answer 3

AG’s Ref (No 3 of 1994)

Question 4

Which case confirmed that the MR requirement of murder includes intention to cause GBH as well as intention to kill?

Answer 4

Cunningham [1982]

Question 5

What is the Woolin [1999] test for oblique intention?

Answer 5

A jury may find that a defendant intended an outcome if it was a virtually certain consequence of his actions and he realised this was the case

Question 6

Why do you consider the offences of Involuntary Manslaughter?

Answer 6

Where D does not have the appropriate MR

Question 7

When would you consider reckless manslaughter?

Answer 7

Where D falls short of oblique intention in Woolin.

Question 8

What are the actus reus and mens rea requirements of constructive manslaughter?

Answer 8

AR: (1) D commits an unlawful act
(2) unlawful act is dangerous
(3) act causes death of V
MR: only need MR of unlawful act

Question 9

Which case established that for constructive manslaughter, the unlawful act must constitute a crime?

Answer 9

Franklin (1883)

Question 10

Which case established that for constructive manslaughter, the unlawful act must be criminal for some other reason than that it has been negligently performed?

Answer 10

Andrews v DPP [1937]

Question 11

Which case established that for constructive manslaughter, the unlawful act cannot be an omission, even a deliberate omission?

Answer 11

Lowe [1973]

Question 12

Which case confirmed the importance of the existence of an unlawful act for constructive manslaughter? What were the facts of that case?

Answer 12

R v Lamb [1967]
D pointed gun at his friend as joke, pulled trigger but knew bullets were not in fire position. Barrel rotated and shot fired and V died of injuries sustained. No assault as V did not apprehend unlawful force so no unlawful act.

Question 13

In which case did the voluntary act of V break the chain of causation of the unlawful act for constructive manslaughter?

Answer 13

Kennedy (No 2)

Where prepared syringe of heroin but V injected self

Question 14

In which case, could constructive manslaughter be based on the unlawful act of administering a noxious thing under s.23 OAPA 1861? What were the facts?

Answer 14

Cato (1976)

D supplied and then injected V with heroin who later died.

Question 15

What is the Church [1966] objective test for assessing whether the unlawful act was a dangerous act?

Answer 15

“must be such as all sober and reasonable people would inevitably recognise must subject the other person to…the risk of some (albeit not serious) harm”

Question 16

Which case established that under the Church test of a dangerous act (for constructive manslaughter) the D need not recognise its dangerousness?

Answer 16

DPP v Newbury [1977]

Question 17

Which case established that some harm, under the Church test of a dangerous act, means physical harm must be established?

Answer 17

Dawson (1985)

Question 18

Which case established that when assessing the dangerousness of an unlawful act, the sober and reasonable bystander (in the Church objective test) is endowed with whatever knowledge D possesses? What were the facts of the case?

Answer 18

Watson (1989)

Burglary of old man’s house. Not to know that burglary would result in death of man when saw burglar.

Question 19

Which case established that the sober and reasonable bystander (for the constructive manslaughter dangerousness test) is not endowed with mistaken beliefs held by D?

Answer 19

Ball [1989]

D mistakenly thought gun was full of blanks

Question 20

Which case established that for causation of constructive manslaughter, the reasonable bystander does not have to foresee the sort of harm caused, just ‘some’ harm?

Answer 20

JM and SM [2012]

Question 21

Which case established that for constructive manslaughter, the act does not need to be directed at V?

Answer 21

AG’s Ref (No 3 of 1994)

About pregnant woman who was stabbed and killed foetus.

Question 22

Which case established the requirements for gross negligence manslaughter?

Answer 22

Adomako [1995]

Question 23

What are the Adomako requirements for establishing gross negligence manslaughter?

Answer 23

(1) D owed V a duty of care
(2) D breached that duty
(3) Breach of duty caused death
(4) Should breach of duty be characterised as gross negligence and therefore a crime
(5) Jury to consider all circumstances and the risk of death involved

Question 24

What are the offences under involuntary manslaughter?

Answer 24

(1) constructive manslaughter
(2) gross negligence manslaughter
(3) subjective recklessness manslaughter

Question 25

What are the partial defences under voluntary manslaughter?

Answer 25

(1) loss of control

(2) diminished responsibility

Question 26

What does the partial defence of loss of control require?

Answer 26

• a loss of self control
• must not be revenge
• a qualifying trigger (not sexual infidelity)
• objective test that someone of same age and sex as D with normal levels of tolerance and self-restraint would have reacted in the same/similar way

Question 27

In which case was it established that for the partial defence of loss of control, D need not suffer a total loss of self-control, he need only not be able to control what he is doing?

Answer 27

Richens [1993]

Question 28

Which section of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 states that for loss of control it does not matter whether it was sudden?

Answer 28

s.54(2)

Question 29

Where is the definition of loss of control?

Answer 29

ss.54 and 55 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Question 30

Which section of the CJA 2009 states that loss of control cannot apply if D acted in a considered desire for revenge?

Answer 30

s.54(4)

Question 31

In which case, where the D armed himself with firearms and a survival kit 12 hours before the murder, was his loss of control plea rejected because it showed considered desire for revenge?

Answer 31

Jewell [2014]

Question 32

What are the qualifying triggers for the loss of control defence under s.55 CJA 2009?

Answer 32

(1) fear of serious violence

(2) justifiable sense of being seriously wronged

Question 33

Which case established that cumulative provocation can be considered under the loss of control partial defence?

Answer 33

Dawes

Question 34

Can you consider sexual infidelity as a qualifying trigger for when D feels justifiably wronged under loss of control? What is the authority for this?

Answer 34

No.

Authority: s.55(6)(c) Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Question 35

In which case did the CA hold that although infidelity cannot itself contribute a trigger for loss of control, it may be taken into account as part of the background of a case?

Answer 35

Clinton, Parker and Evans [2012]

Question 36

What is the objective test for considering loss of control as a partial defence under s.54(1)(c) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009?

Answer 36

Defence will only succeed if a person of the same age and sex as D who has normal levels of tolerance and self-restraint would have reacted in the same or similar way.

Question 37

Which case confirmed, that when a D who was drunk pleads loss of control, the objective test is to be conducted with reference to whether a sober person would have reacted in the same way? (That you do not consider D’s drunkeness as a relevant circumstance)

Answer 37

Asmelash [2013]

Question 38

Where do you find the requirements of the partial defence of diminished responsibility?

Answer 38

Homicide Act 1957 s.2

Question 39

What are the summarised requirements for a successful plea of diminished responsibility?

Answer 39

(1) abnormality of mental functioning
(2) from recognised medical condition
(3) that substantially impairs D’s ability to:
(A) understand the nature of his conduct or
(B) form a rational self-judgment or
(C) exercise self-control and
(4) provides an explanation for D’s acts

Question 40

Which case defined the diminished responsibility requirement of an abnormality of mental functioning as “a state of mind so different from that of ordinary human beings that the reasonable man would term it abnormal”?

Answer 40

Bryne [1960]

Question 41

What will you need to provide to establish that D is suffering from a recognised medical condition under diminished responsibility plea?

Answer 41

Expert evidence

Question 42

In which case did the court define that a D could rely on alcoholism as the recognised medical condition under diminished responsibility if the first drink of the day was involuntary?

Answer 42

Tandy [1988]

Question 43

Where do you find the requirement that the medical condition under diminished responsibility must cause or is a significant contributory factor to explain D’s acts?

Answer 43

S.2 (1)(b) Homicide Act

Question 44

In which case was it considered that for D’s medical condition under diminished responsibility, it would not be a substantial impairment if it “may be some impairment but did not make a great difference”?

Answer 44

Gold [2014]