Involuntary Manslaughter (Unlawful Act Manslaughter and Gross Negligence Manslaughter). Flashcards
Define the AR for Unlawful Act Manslaughter (UAM).
1) D commits an unlawful act;
2) Which is dangerous; and
3) Causes the death of the victim.
Define MR in relation to UAM.
The MR will be satisfied so long as the MR of the offence which is deemed the unlawful act which is dangerous and causes the death is satisfied. Eg for Ash which causes the death, the MR of ABH (intent or recklessness to inflict unlawful force) is what needs to be satisfied.
Can omissions satisfy the unlawful act element of UAM?
No.
How is the dangerousness requirement of UAM determined?
-The act will be dangerous where the jury is satisfied that ‘all sober and reasonable people would inevitably recognise the act would subject the other person to, at least, a risk of some harm, albeit not serious harm.
- To assess whether the reasonable person would have recognised some harm, they are deemed to have the knowledge D had or should havre had at the time of the offence.
Explain the causation element of UAM.
Usual rules of causation apply so it must be proved D was both the factual and legal cause of V’s death.
Important to note with regards to drugs, if V freely and voluntarily injected themself, chain of causation will be broken and D will not be guilty of UAM.
Explain the required elements of Gross Negligence Manslaughter (GNM).
1) D must have owed a duty of care to the victim;
2) D must have breached that duty;
3) The brach must be the cause of death; and
4) D’s conduct must have been grossly negligent.
Can GNM be committed by omission?
Yes.
What approach is taken by the courts run relation to establishing a duty of care for GNM?
1) Where there is clear duty, (ie doctor patient) or a statutory duty, judge can direct jury that a duty of care exists;
2) Where duty is not clear, judge must decide whether there is any evidence capable of establishing a duty of care;
3) If there is such evidence, jury will determine whether a duty of care is present on the facts. If no, then the case will fail.
how do the courts assess whether the duty of care has be breached for GNM?
The same as in negligence - D will have breached duty if their conduct falls below the standard of a reasonable person (or someone with special skills if appropriate).
Explain the requirement that D’s breach of duty must be grossly negligent.
Conduct of D must be sufficiently bad as to justify the law imposing a criminal penalty.
- Simple lack of care, sufficient for tort of negligence is not sufficient for GNM.
- The adopted approach the jury must take is one of fact, and is as follows:
‘The essence of the matter … is whether, having regard to the risk of death
involved, the conduct of the defendant was so bad in all the circumstances as to
amount in [the jury’s] judgment to a criminal act or omission.’
Explain whether the risk of death (for gross negligence) is satisfied when a doctor or healthcare worker fails to spot an illness/ issue which leads to death of a patient.
It would have to be overwhelmingly obvious at the time. The general rule is that failure to spot something fonts nature would not be grossly negligent (as somethings for example may only be apparent on further investigation and not reasonably spotted in routine check ups).
The death must therefore be a clear and unambiguous present risk, not one which may become apparent on further inspection.
Explain the risk of death factor which is considered when determining whether a breach was grossly negligent.
Circumstances must be such that reasonably prudent person would have foreseen a serious and obvious risk not merely of injury or even of serious injury, but of death.
Effectively, what is the jury being asked to consider when determining if D’s breach was grossly negligent.
With reference to the risk of death requirement, the jury must determine whether the accused’s behaviour was exceptionally bad and resulted in such a departure from the standard of a reasonably competent person in their position (eg a reasonably competent doctor).
