involuntary manslauter Flashcards
define involuntary manslaughter
The unlawful killing where the defendant did not have the necessary intention for murder.
What are the 3 categories to manslauter
Constructive act manslauter
gross negligence manslauter
reckless manslauter
What are the 3 actus reus elements required for unlawful act manslaughter
Commit an unlawful act
act must be dangerous
act must of caused the death
what are the 6 cases involved in unlawful act excluding causation
Church, JM and SM, Watson, Birstow Dunn and delay, Larkin and Mitchell
List the facts and law in the case of JM and SM
JM and SM started a fight with some bouncers, the bouncers artery burst and he died of a heart attack.
The law stated that the defendant need not foresee a type of harm but some level of harm
Foresee some harm
State the facts and law in Watson
Two defendants threw a brick into an old mans house in attempt to burgle him. They then attacked him and he died of a heart attack.
The law stated that the burglary was dangerous and that it became dangerous when D’s seen the ‘condition’ ie fragile state the old man was in.
Type of harm
State the facts and law in Burstow, Dunn and Delay and the area
D’s attempted to burgle a mans workshop, knowing that he would try to stop them, they ran him over killing him.
The law stated that knowing there was going to be someone try and stop them, the reasonable person would realize some risk of harm.
Type of harm
State the facts in Larkin and the law and area
D pointed a knife and his wifes lover, she was drunk and fell onto the knife cutting her neck.
It does not matter whether the victim was the person you intended to harm.
Unintended victim
State the facts of Mitchell and the area and law
D started a fight with a man in a post office, the man fell onto a lady who fell and died.
The case backs up larkin
Unintended victim
List the cases included in the element of causation for involuntary manslaughter
Legal- pagette and white
factual- kimsey
think skull rule- blaue
victims own act- roberts, williams and davis
Explain novus actus intervenes
If there is a break in the chain of causation then the unlawdul act has not caused the death and so D is not guilty of unlawful act manslauter.
What are the 3 cases used to illustrate novus actus intervenes in involuntary manslauter
Cato 1976
Dalby 1982
Kennedy 2007
Explain the facts and ratio of Cato
D and V both prepped injections of heroin and injected eachother, killing V.
Held: D prepping the injection and giving it to V is not a novus actus interveneous
Explain the facts and ratio of Dalby
D supplied a drug to V. V injected himself with heroin. D was not convicted because it was not the act of supplying but the act of V injecting himself that caused the death.
Explain the facts of Kennedy 2007
D pepped an injection for V, to which V injected himself. It was held on appeal D not guilty because V injecting himself was the intervening act.
What are the two cases for the mens rea of involuntary manslauter
Newbury and Jones
Le Bruh
Describe the facts and ratio of Newbury and Jones
Two 15 year olds threw a pathement slab off a bridge, it landed on a car killing the driver. D’s not guilty because they didnt foresee the harm.
Describe the facts and ratio of Le Bruh
D dragged wife into a house and fractured her skull and died. D convicted of manslaughter because the original act was not the direct cause of the death but both were part of the same sequence of consequences.
Define gross negligent manslauter
When someone dies as a result of the negligence of another person
Describe the actus reus of gross neg
-Must be a duty of care
-A breach of the duty
-Breach must cause the death
Negligence must be ‘gross’
-Must of been a risk of death
What is the leading case in gross Neg
Adomako established the actus reus
Which case established that the negligence must be gross
Bateman
List the facts and ratio of Bateman
A doctor removed a womans uterus during childbirth. Ratio: In order to establish criminal liability the evidence must be proven to the jury that D’s actions went beyond showing diseguard fo the life and safety of another person.
What did the case of adomako follow and establish as well as the AR of gross neg
Approved the case of Bateman and said that the disreguard for life, health and safety is for the jury to decide.
List all of the cases involved in gross neg
Causation and Omissions
- Bateman
- Finley
- Edwards
- Adomako
- Misra and Srivastava
Describe the facts of Finley
D a scout leader, took a group up a mountain and one child fell and died. D did not take the neccesary safety pocedures.
D was still aquitted
Describe the facts of Edwards
Let their children play on a railway line and died.
D’s found guilty
Describe the facts of Misra abd Sivastava
Ds, doctors who had been convicted of gross negligence manslaughter in relation to the deaths of patient.
They argued the test of “risk of death” was unclear and took it to the court of human rights
Desribe the law on mens rea for gross neg
Gross neg is based on the idea that there is no mens rea to commit the crime
Describe the facts of Lidar
Defendant, was in the driver seat of his car in a pub carpark when the victim lent through the passenger window and a fight started. Defendant drove off with the victim still half in the car and the victim got his feet caught in the rear wheel and died. The trial judge referred to recklessness in his direction to the jury and the defendant was convicted.
