involuntary manslaughter Flashcards
what is involuntary manslaughter?
unlawful killings committed without the mens rea for murder
what are the two types for this course?
Unlawful Act Manslaughter and Gross Negligence Manslaughter
what in unlawful act manslaughter?
an offence committed when the defendant kills the victim via an unlawful and dangerous act
what is the mens rea required for UAM?
an intention to do the unlawful act
how is whether or not the defendant’s act is dangerous assessed?
by way of whether a sober and reasonable person would consider the defendant’s act to be dangerous
as per DPP v Newbury & Jones what are the elements that must be present for a defendant to have committed UAM?
- D must do the act
- act must be unlawful
- act must be dangerous
- act must cause the death of the victim (factual and legal cause)
what cases cause problems with UAM?
drugs cases
if the defendant has administered drugs to the victim, leading to the death of the victim, what is the longstanding precedent?
when a defendant injects their victim with drugs, and causes the death of the victim, the defendant will be guilty of manslaughter
what is the case when a defendant supplies drugs to the victim, but the victim administers the drugs to themselves?
R v Kennedy
HOL provided that in situations where the defendant has provided the victim with a syringe for immediate injection, it is “never” appropriate to find the defendant guilty of UAM
what is gross negligence manslaughter?
where a defendant’s failure to exercise the degree of care that would be expected in a duty situation leads to the death of the victim
standard of negligence required is gross
following R v Adomako what must the prosecution prove to establish GNM?
- that D owed V a duty of care
- that D breached that duty
- that the breach of duty caused the death of the victim
- that the breach that caused the death was grossly negligent
in the absence of any obvious duty relationship what will the court ask?
- was there a reasonable foreseeability that V would be harmed by D’s acts or omissions?
- was there a proximate relationship between D and V
- would it be fair to impose a duty on D in the circumstances
when will a defendant be in breach of their duty?
when their conduct falls below that which would be expected of a reasonable person in their situation. a breach can be by positive act or by omission
what does proving that the defendant’s breach of duty caused the death of the victim require?
requires the prosecution to establish that D’s acts or omissions were both the factual and legal cause of the victim’s death
