Murder Year 13

Question 1

What is homicide?

Answer 1

The killing of a human being.

Question 2

What are the different types of offences of homicide depending on the mens rea (and whether there is a defence).

Answer 2

Murder
Voluntary Manslaughter
Involuntary Manslaughter

Question 3

What type of offence is murder?

Answer 3

A common law offence- not found in statute.

Question 4

What is the definition of murder?

Answer 4

17c Lord coke- ‘the unlawful killing of a reasonable creature in being and under the Queen’s/King’s peace with malice aforethought, express or implied’

Question 5

Can an omission cause the death of the victim?

Answer 5

Not usually but only if there is a duty to act (refer to elements of a crime).

Question 6

What does unlawful mean?

Answer 6

If someone is killed in self-defence then it will not be unlawful- everyone has the right to protect themselves with reasonable force.

Question 7

What does killing mean?

Answer 7

Defendant must have caused the death of victim, accelerated the victims death by more than a negligible amount. Death of a ‘reasonable creature in being’.

Question 8

What does reasonable creature in being mean?

Answer 8

A human.
Not a foetus or a brain dead person.

Question 9

What is death in utero?

Answer 9

NOT murder.

Question 10

What is Article 2 ECHR?

Answer 10

The right to life argument.

Question 11

R v Poulton

Answer 11

The foetus becomes a human being when the child is born alive and completely outside the mother.

Question 12

R v Enoch

Answer 12

The child must be capable of breathing, although not actually have begun to breathe.

Question 13

What are foetuses protected under?

Answer 13

S.58 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861

Question 14

When can a foetus death become a murder (give a case)

Answer 14

Attorney-General’s Reference (No.3 of 1994) (1997)
If a child is injured in the womb and is born alive but then dies from the injuries after.

Question 15

What is brain dead and what does the law say? When do you die?

Answer 15

Medical definition- that a person is dead once he or she stops breathing, the heart ceases to function.

Question 16

Does a life support machine consitute to murder if turned off. Give a case.

Answer 16

No, it doesn’t break the chain of causation. Malcherek and Steel

Question 17

Who will be liable for the death after the life support machine is turned off?

Answer 17

The original attacker.

Question 18

How does causation work.

Answer 18

The same as in elements of a crime!!

Question 19

Will medical treatment break the chain of causation? Give a case.

Answer 19

Unlikely to- has to be independent from the D conduct and serious enough to have caused the death. R v Smith

Question 20

What does Under Queen’s Peace mean?

Answer 20

Killing of enemy aliens during war and under battle conditions is not criminal homicide.

Question 21

An English court can try a British citizen for murder/manslaughter committed in? (Where is this from)

Answer 21

Any country- Offences Against the Person Act 1861, S.9

Question 22

Explain ‘malice aforethought’, what does expressed or implied mean?

Answer 22

Intention to kill (expressed)
Intention to cause GBH (implied)

Question 23

Can a defendant be guilty of murder even though they didn’t intend to kill?

Answer 23

YES!

Question 24

What does R v Vickers confirm?

Answer 24

Implied intention.

Question 25

What cause confirmed previous ruling in that the intention to cause really serious harm was sufficient for the mens rea of murder?

Answer 25

R v Cunningham

Question 26

Is it necessary for the judge to give the jury any special direction on the meaning of intention?

Answer 26

No, not in most cases.

Question 27

What does R v Moloney state?

Answer 27

Foresight of consequences is evidence of intention.

Question 28

Where the D might not have acted with the purpose of killing or causing GBH, but it is extremely likely result of the D actions, what test should be jury be given?

Answer 28

The Woollin test.

Question 29

What is the Woollin test?

Answer 29

1. If death or serious injury was a virtual certainty as a result of the D actions
2. D must be aware of the risk

Question 30

Transferred malice- D will be liable if he intended to commit a similar crime against a different victim. Give some cases?

Answer 30

R v Latimer
R v Mitchell
R v Gnango

Question 31

R v Pembleton

Answer 31

If the mens rea is for a completely different offence than the one committed then the D may not be guilty. (pebbles).