Short Answers - 1 Flashcards
What is Culpable Homicide?
It is the blameworthy killing of a person by another. The three main types of culpable homicide is murder, manslaughter and infanticide.
Outline “M’Naghten’s Rules”
The M’Naghten’s rules (or test) is frequently used to establish whether or not a defendant is insane. It is based on the person’s ability to think rationally, so that if a person is insane they were acting under such a defect of reason from a disease of the mind that they did not know:
- The nature and quality of their actions, or
- That what they were doing was wrong
List four statutory legal duties in respect of the Crimes Act 1961:
(1) Provide the necessaries and protect from injury (S151)
(2) Provide necessaries and protect from injury to your charges when you are a parent or guardian (S152)
(3) Provide necessaries as an employer (S153)
(4) Use reasonable knowledge and skill when performing dangerous acts, such as surgery (S155)
(5) Take precautions when in charge of dangerous things, such as machinery (S156)
(6) Avoid omissions that will endanger life (S157)
List the difference between counselling or attempting to procure murder (S174) and conspiracy to murder (S175)?
Jurisdiction: Counselling or attempting to procure murder requires that the murder be committed within New Zealand., whereas with conspiracy to murder, the murder can take place in New Zealand or elsewhere.
Outcome: Counselling or attempting to procure murder applies only if the murder is not actually committed, whereas conspiracy to murder applies whether or not the murder is ultimately carried out.
S159 (1) & (2) CA 1961 defines when a child becomes a human being and is therefor able to be murdered under S158. Detail the provisions of S159(1) & (2):
S159(1):
A child is considered a human being under this law as soon as it is fully born and leaves its mother’s body, regardless of whether it has started breathing, has its own blood circulation, or whether the umbilical cord is cut.
S159(2):
If a child dies because of injuries before, during, or after birth, it is considered homicide.
Define ‘Homicide S158, CA 1961:
Homicide is the killing of another human being, directly or indirectly, by any means whatsover.
What was held in ‘R v Mane’:
A person can only be an accessory to a crime if the crime is already completed when they get involved. You can’t be convicted as an accessory to murder if the murder was fully carried out before you became involved.
State the ingredients of Infanticide S178, CA 1961:
If a woman causes the death of her child under 10 years old, but at the time her mind was disturbed due to effects of childbirth, lactation or related conditions, she may be charged with infanticide instead of murder or manslaughter. If found guilty, she could be sentenced to up to 3 years in prison.
What does ‘R v Myatt’ state about an unlawful act in respect of S160(2) CA 1961:
Before an act can be considered unlawful for causing culpable homicide, it must be an action that could likely harm the deceased, or a group of people that person belonged to.
What was held in ‘R v Tomars’:
Formulates the issues in the following way:
(1) Did the accused threaten, scare, or deceive the deceased?
(2) If so, did this cause the deceased to take the action that led to their death?
(3) Was the deceased’s action a natural result of what the accused did, meaning that a reasonable person in the accused’s position could have expected it?
(4) Did the victim’s actions, which were foreseeable, play a significant role in their death?
In general, no one is criminally responsible for the killing of another by any influence of the mind. What are the exceptions to this rule?
- Wilfully frightening a child under 16 years of age
- Wilfully frightening a sick person (mentally or physically)
What is meant by the term “justified?” Provide two examples:
Some acts that result in death may be “justified,” meaning the person who committed the act is not legally liable, either criminally or civilly.
Examples include:
Self defence - Section 48: where homicide occurs to protection oneself
Preventing suicide or stopping a serious crime - Section 41: where homicide happens to prevent immediate harm to someone or their property.
Why is attempted murder one of the most difficult offences in the CA 1961 to prove beyond reasonable doubt?
R v Murphy: To prove an attempt to commit a crime, it must be shown that the accused intended to commit the full offence. For example, in an attempted murder case, the prosecution must prove that the accused actually intended to kill.
What are the ingredients to accessory after the fact to murder?
Knowing any person to have been party to a murder, receives, comforts, assists that person or tampers with or actively suppresses evidence against that person in order to enable him to escape after arrest or to avoid conviction.
Define the term “Suicide Pact”, S180(3), CA 1961:
A suicide pact is when two or more people agree that all of them will die, whether each person takes their own life or not. However, a person’s actions will only be considered part of the pact if they intend to die as part of it at the time they act.
