involuntary manslaughter - UAM Flashcards
What is involuntary manslaughter?
An unlawful killing where D did not have the necessary intention for murder
What is the maximum sentence for involuntary manslaughter and what does the judge have?
Maximum sentence is life
Judge has discretion in sentencing
What are the three categories of involuntary manslaughter?
Unlawful act manslaughter
Gross negligence manslaughter
Reckless manslaughter
What is unlawful act manslaughter sometimes referred to as?
Constructive act manslaughter
What are the three actus reus elements required for unlawful act manslaughter
D must:
Commit an unlawful act
Which must be dangerous
And must cause the death
What is the mens rea element of unlawful act manslaughter?
D must have the required mens rea for the unlawful act (not the death)
What kind of offence must the unlawful act be?
A criminal one, a tort is not enough
Can unlawful act manslaughter be committed by omission?
No it can’t
Give the facts of Franklin
D threw a large box off a pier it hit a swimmer who died
Give the ratio of Franklin
D not liable because he commuted a civil wrong not a criminal one
Give the facts of Lamb
D pointed a gun at v and fired killing him, neither of them thought the gun was loaded
Give the ratio of Lamb
No liability, the pointing of the gun was not an assault because the friend did not fear any violence from D
Give the facts of Lowe
D willingly neglected his son who died as a result
Give the ratio of Lowe
D was not liable because unlawful act manslaughter can not be committed by an omission
Give the facts of Goodfellow
D set fire to his house resulting in three deaths
Give the ratio of Goodfellow
All the elements of unlawful act manslaughter were present so D was convicted
What does Church establish?
The objective test for whether an act is dangerous
Give the test stated in Church
An act is dangerous if the reasonable person would have foreseen some kind of harm to a person (not necessarily V)
Give the facts of JM and SM
D’s got into a fight with V who died of a ruptured artery
Give the ratio of JM and SM
D only has to foresee SOME harm to V
Finish the sentence:
The risk of harm must be…
Physical not emotional
Finish the sentence:
If the reasonable person would be aware of…
A victims frailty and increased risk of physical harm then the defendant would be liable
Give the facts of Watson
D’s entered property intending to steal, they physically abused an old man who died of a heart attack 90 mins later
Give the obiter of Watson
Said burglary could be dangerous as soon as the old mans condition became apparent to the reasonable man
Give the facts of Bristow, Dunn and Delay
D’s burgled V and ran him over
Give the ratio of Bristow
A reasonable person would have foreseen the risk of some harm from the burglary
Finish the sentence:
It does not matter if:
V was not the person the act was aimed at
Give the facts of Larkin
D threatened someone with a razor but someone else fell on the razor and died
Give the ratio of Larkin
It does not matter if V was not the person the assault was aimed at
Give the facts of Mitchell
D got into an argument and stumbled into V who died of her injuries
Give the ratio of Mitchell
The act was dangerous as it was likely to harm someone
Fill the blank:
The general rules of __________ apply to unlawful act manslaughter
Causation
Give the facts of Corion Auguste
D threw a firework, v was knocked to the floor and died
Give the ratio of Corion Auguste
D’s act was the direct and substantial cause of death
Give the facts of cato
D and v injected each other with heroin and v died
Give the ratio of Cato
This did not break the chain of causation because D injected the drugs
Give the facts of Dalby
D supplied drugs to V who self injected and died
Give the ratio of Dalby
V’s own act of self injecting was an intervening act
Give the facts of Kennedy
D prepared a syringe for V who self injected and died
Give the ratio of Kennedy
V’s act of injecting himself was an intervening act which broke the chain of causation
Give an Ao2 point about Kennedy
Even the courts can’t decide if drug dealers should be responsible for deaths, Court of Appeal upheld conviction twice then quashed
Give the facts of Dias
D prepared a syringe for V who self injected and died
Give the obiter of Dias
Court of Appeal suggested conviction of gross negligence manslaughter might be possible where a duty of care could be established, this duty could be a duty not to supply and prepare drugs
What is the mens rea of unlawful act manslaughter
The level of mens rea necessary for the unlawful act, they do not need to foresee death
Give the facts of Newbury and Jones
D’s threw a paving stone at a passing train causing the death of V
Give the ratio of Newbury and Jones
The House of Lords said it was not necessary for D to prove he foresaw any harm from his act
Give the facts of Le Brun
D hit his wife on the chin and she became unconscious so he dragged her away, in doing so she fractured her skull and died
Give the ratio of Le Brun
Although the intentional unlawful act was not the direct cause of death, that act and the act causing death were part of the same sequence of events and that was sufficient
