UDAM

Question 1

what type of law is involuntary manslaughter?

Answer 1

common law

Question 2

actus reus for involuntary manslaughter

Answer 2

same as murder

Question 3

difference between voluntary andinvoluntary manslaughter

Answer 3

-mr for murder not present
-involuntary manslaughter is an offence not a defence
-you can be charged with im in its own right

Question 4

ways of committing involuntary manslaughter

Answer 4

-unlawful and dangerous act manslaughter (UDAM)
-gross negligence manslaughter (GNM)

Question 5

actus reus of UDAM

Answer 5

-D must do an unlawful act
-the act must be dangerous
-the act must cause death

Question 6

Lamb (unlawful act)

Answer 6

facts- lamb and his friend were playing with a gun. they believed it would not fire. lamb pointed gun and killed his friend.
principle- for UDAM there must be an unlawful act, not one in this case.
There had not been an assault as V did not apprehend any violence.

Question 7

Mitchell (unlawful act- not aimed at v)

Answer 7

facts- D tried to push way into queue. 72yo man told him off. D punched him causing him to fall onto 89yo woman, se died a few days later.
principle- the unlawful act was punching man, unlawful act doesn’t have to be aimed a v (conviction upheld)

Question 8

leading case on test for dangerousness

Answer 8

church

Question 9

church (dangerousness)

Answer 9

facts- D&V in his van for sexual purposes. He failed to satisfy her so she mocke4d him and slapped him. D knocked her out. D believed she was dead and threw her in a river. She wasn’t dead but then drowned.
principle- CoA est the unlawful act must be dangerous. Test for dangerousness is objective.
An act is dangerous if a reasonable person would have realised that the act might cause some harm.

Question 10

cato (causation issue in drug related deaths)

Answer 10

facts- 2 friends spent night injecting eachother with heroin, one died.
principle- unlawful act was administering noxious substance. clearly dangerous. caused death.

Question 11

kennedy (causation issue in drug related deaths

Answer 11

facts- D prepared an injection of heroin and gave it to v who injected himself and v died.
principle- quashed conviction, no unlawful act as v had intervened by injecting himself.

Question 12

newbury and jones (mr)

Answer 12

facts- D’s were 2 teenage boys who pushed a piece of paving stone from a bridge onto a railway line, hitting the train and killing the guard.
principle- only need mr for unlawful act (criminal damage)