Homicide

Question 1

What is the first step in considering if someone is guilty of murder?

Answer 1

Was a reasonable creature in killing unlawfully killed?

Question 2

What case established this step and what is it’s importance?

Answer 2

Attorney-General’s Reference (no.3 of 1994). A foetus was determined to not be entitled to this protefction as they are not a “person”

Question 3

What is the second step?

Answer 3

Did the defendant factually cause the victims death?

Question 4

What is the “but for” test?

Answer 4

The test asks “But for” the actions of the defendant would the victim have died as and when they did? if the answer is no, the the victim will be liable for the death

Question 5

What happened in the case of R v White?

Answer 5

White tried to poison his mother but before the poison could take effect she died naturally of a heart attack because of this he was not held liable for the death

Question 6

What happened in the case of R v Pagett?

Answer 6

In this case Pagett used his girlfriend as a human shield while firing at the police the police panicked and fired back killing the girlfriend. “but for” his action of using her as a human shield she would have not died when are where she did so he was held liable despite the fact he did not shoot her

Question 7

What is the de minimis rule?

Answer 7

Requires that the original injury caused by the defendants action must still be more than the minimal cause of death?

Question 8

What is the third step?

Answer 8

Did the defendant legally cause the victims death?

Question 9

What must be considered at the time of the victims death?

Answer 9

Was the injury the operating and substantial cause of death?

Question 10

What happened in the case of R v Smith?

Answer 10

A soldier had been stabbed. He was dropped twice on the way to hospital and experienced a delay in seeing a doctor. He was then given poor medical treatment. He succumbed to his wounds and died. The court held these facts were not enough to break the

Question 11

What happened in the case of R v Jordan?

Answer 11

The defendant had stabbed the victim, while in hospital the victim was given an antibiotic that killed him because of his allergies. The defendant was acquitted of murder as at the time of death the original wound had almost healed and the death was attributable not to the stab wound but the antibiotic, the courts said that negligent medical treatment could only break the chain of causation when it is palpably wrong

Question 12

What is the thin skull rule?

Answer 12

A defendant has to take their victim as they find them, meaning that, the the victim dies from some unusual or unexpected physical or other condition, the defendant is still responsible for the death. For example, if during a fight the defendant hits the victim with a punch that would not normally cause anything more than soreness and bruising but due to a thin skull the victim dies the defendant will be held liable for the death

Question 13

What happened in the case of R v Blaue?

Answer 13

The defendant stabbed a woman who happened to be a Jehovahs witness. She refused a blood transfusion which would have saved her life. The defendant argued he should not be responsible for her death as the transfusion. The court disagreed and said he must take his victim as he finds them.

Question 14

Explain intervening acts?

Answer 14

For an intervening act to break the chain of causation, it must be unforeseeable and random. It is sometimes likened to an ‘act of god’. The previously mention case of R v Jordan is an example of this

Question 15

Define direct intention?

Answer 15

Direct intention is where the defendant has a clear foresight of the consequences of their action and specifically desires the consequnce

Question 16

Define oblique intention?

Answer 16

Oblique intention is less clear than direct intent. Here the defendant may not desire the consequence of an action (e.g. death), but if they realise the consequence will happen as a virtual certainty, they can be said to have oblique intention.

Question 17

What two cases feature oblique intention?

Answer 17

Nedrick and Woolin

Question 18

Explain Transferred Malice and what case is this shown in?

Answer 18

Under the doctrine of transferred malice mens rea may be transferred from an intended victim to an unintended one. This is shown in the case of Latimer (1986) where the defendant hit victim number one with his belt, but It recoiled off him and hit victim number two, an innocent bystander. The defendant had committed the actus reus with the necessary mens rea. The mens rea could be transferred to the actual victim.

Question 19

What is a continuing act?

Answer 19

It is not necessary for mens rea to be present at the start of the actus reus as long as at some point in a continuous act, mens rea appears.

Question 20

What happened in Fagan v Metropolitan Police Commissioner?

Answer 20

Fagan accidentally parked his car on a police officer’s foot when asked by the officer to park his car near the curb. Fagan did not mean to drive his car on the officer’s foot. However, when asked to move he refused. It was at this point mens rea was formed and driving onto the officer’s foot and remaining there was a continuing act

Question 21

What is single transaction of events?

Answer 21

The courts have held that as long as there is one unbroken transaction of events, then actus reus and mens rea need not occur at the same time. For example, if Rhidian attempts to murder Tristan by beating him to death, has not succeeded but still think he is dead, then actually kills Trystan by running him over, Rhidian will still be guilty of murder.

Question 22

What happened in the case of Thabo Meli?

Answer 22

The defendants had attempted to kill the victim by beating him up. He was not actually dead when the group disposed of his body by tossing it off a cliff it was then he died. The court held that there was a single transaction of events and as long as the defendants had the relevant mens rea at the beginning of the transaction, it could conclude with the actus reus when that occurred