Murder Flashcards
Murder is a _____ crime
result
Who was the definition of murder was given by and when?
Judge Coke in the 17th century
What is the definition of murder by Judge Coke?
The unlawful killing with malice aforethought, express or implied
What are the two ways a D can commit an unlawful killing?
- voluntary act
- omission
What is an omission?
Failure to act when the person has a legal duty to do so
Name the key case for omission
R v Gibbons & Proctor
Name the key case when a D must not be acting in self defence
R v Beckford
What is the sentencing for murder?
Mandatory life sentence
What is the AR of murder?
The unlawful killing of a reasonable person in being under the King’s peace
Name the key case that establishes a V must have independent existence and circulation from their mother
A G.R No.3 of 1994
Name the key case that establishes V will be considered ‘dead’ if they have suffered irreversible brain stem injury
R v Malackerk and Steel
What is factual causation based on?
The ‘but for’ test
What is the key case for factual causation?
R v White - D was not the factual cause
What does legal causation mean?
D’s act must be more than a minimal cause to the end result
Name the key case for when D’s act must be more than the minimal cause
R v Cato
Name the key case for when there must be more than a slight or trifling link between D’s action and the death
R v Kimsey
What is the thin skull rule in murder?
Where the D can’t rely on a deficiency in the V to escape liability. D ‘must take the V as he finds him’
Name the key case where the thin skull rule is shown
R v Blaue
What is the MR for murder?
Malice aforethought, express or implied
What does express malice aforethought mean?
Intention to kill
What does implied malice aforethought mean?
Intention to cause GBH
Name the key case for implied (GBH) malice aforethought
R v Vickers
Intention can either be ____ or _____
direct or oblique
What is direct intention?
Where D desires the resulting death, or the purpose of his acts are to kill
Name the key case for direct intention
R v Mohan
Further explain the case of R v Mohan
D did ‘everything in his power to bring about the prohibited consequence’ when he accelerated fast towards the victim
What is oblique intention?
Where D may not see the outcome, but in acting the way he did, the outcome is virtually certain and D appreciates this
Name the key case for oblique intention
R v Woolin
Further explain the case of R v Woolin
Where serious harm to the baby was a virtual certainty of D’s action
What is stated under the rule of transferred malice?
the MR can be transferred from the intended V to the actual V, providing that the MR and AR coincide and it is a similar offence
Name the key case for transferred malice
Latimer
State the facts and outcome of Latimer
D hit a lady with a belt instead of the intended V.
Latimer was guilty of an assault against the woman even though he had not intended to hit her
What makes a killing unlawful?
If V’s death occurs outside of war and so was under the King’s peace
Expand on the main facts of A G.R No3 of 1994
D stabbed pregnant V. The baby died 4 months later due to the premature birth. D could not be convicted for murder/manslaughter since at the time of the attack the feotus wasn’t considered a reasonable person in being
Expand on the main facts of Malackerk and Steel
Switching off a life support machine does not break the chain of causation so the original attacker was still liable for murder
Here D committed a voluntary act when they killed V. This is because..
D physically .. (action they did to kill) (use scenario)
V’s death is unlawful. This is because…
It wasn’t a lawful execution, V death occurred outside of war and so was under the King’s peace. D was also not acting in self defence when they killed V, this is because although they (state any feuds, issues between D and V), V had not attacked them.
V was a reasonable person in being. This is because V..
suffered irreversible death of the brain stem and had independent existence and circulation of their mother
Name the 5 different legal duties for an omission
- special relationship
- contractual duty
- limit harm D causes that set in motion a dangerous chain of events
- official position (police officer)
- voluntarily assumed responsibility
Name the omission case for special relationship
Gibbons & Proctor
Name the omission case for contractual duty
R v Pittwood
Name the omission case for limiting harm
R v Miller
Name the omission case for official position
R v Dytham
Name the omission case for voluntarily assumed responsibility
Stone & Dobinson
Name the case for physical weakness in causation (thin skull rule)
R v Hayward
What were the main facts of Hayward
D was still liable for wife’s death even though he did not know she suffered from a thyroid condition when he shouted at her
Name the case for self-neglect of V
R v Dear
What were the main facts of R v Dear
D was still liable as the injuries on the deceased were still a significant and operative cause of death
What were the main facts of R v Blaue
V refused blood transfusion on religious grounds due to being a Jehovah’s witness
When to use Blaue?
Where V receives medical attention but refuses specific treatments due to personal, religious, or ethical beliefs.
Name the case for switching off life support machine
Malackerk & Steel
What was stated in Malackerk & Steel?
A properly informed medical decision to terminate treatment in such circumstances would not break the chain
It must be proven that D is the ..
factual and legal cause of V’s death
What does the ‘but for’ test require?
requires the prosecution to prove that ‘but for’ D’s act, the death would not have occurred
Name the key case for the but for test
R v Padgett
What was the but for statement for R v Padgett
‘but for’ him using his girlfriend as a human shield, she would not have died.
Give the legal causation main facts of R v Kimsey
D made more than a slight or trifling link to the end result
Name the key case for break in the chain of causation
R v Chesire
When may D not be the legal cause of V’s death?
Where there may be a novus actus intervenient which could break the chain of causation
Following Matthew’s and Alleyne, foresight of consequences..
is evidence of intention, which the jury can rely on to find (D’s name) guilty of murder
Medical negligence may break the chain, but only if the act is ______
independent of the D’s acts and in itself ‘so potent in causing death that the D’s acts are insignificant’
Name the key case for medical negligence
R v Jordan
What were the main facts of Jordan?
V died from an allergic reaction to an antibiotic
Name the key case for V’s own actions
Roberts 1971
Main facts of Roberts 1971?
Chain was not broken when V jumped out the car to avoid sexual advances
