unlawful act manslaughter

Question 1

what type of manslaughter is this

Answer 1

involuntary

Question 2

instead of murder, what are people charged with when it comes to involuntary manslaughter

Answer 2

Unlawful Act/Constructive Manslaughter-
defendant committed an unlawful and dangerous act which caused death.
The defendant did not intend or foresee death.

Question 3

Actus Reus

Answer 3

Defendant carries out an Unlawful Act

Which is a Dangerous Act

And it Causes Death

Question 4

mens rea

Answer 4

The mens rea for the original unlawful act is needed

No intention or foresight of death is required

Question 5

rules for unlawful act (4)

Answer 5

Unlawful act must be a crime. Civil wrong is not enough
The unlawful act cannot be an omission, it must be an act
All elements of the unlawful act must be satisfied.
It is not necessarily important which crime is used as the basis of the unlawful act, as long as it is clear and consistent

Question 6

Unlawful act must be a crime. Civil wrong is not enough case

Answer 6

r v franklin
(D threw a box off Brighton pier. It hit a swimmer on the head and killed them by drowning)

Question 7

The unlawful act cannot be an omission, it must be an act case

Answer 7

r v lowe
(D forgot to feed his baby, who then died)

Question 8

All elements of the unlawful act must be satisfied case

Answer 8

r v lamb
(not all elements of the assault are satisfied as v thought the gun was a toy too)

Question 9

It is not necessarily important which crime is used as the basis of the unlawful act, as long as it is clear and consistent case

Answer 9

r v kennedy
(D prepared a syringe of heroin for V, but V injected himself. V died of an overdose)

Question 10

dangerous act definition (by case)

Answer 10

'’the unlawful act must be what all sober and reasonable people would recognise as a risk of some harm’’

Question 11

what case gave us this definition

Answer 11

DPP v Newbury & Jones 1976
(Throwing a paving slab off a railway bridge as a train approaches)

Question 12

causes death

Answer 12

usual rules of causation apply here
1) Factual Causation
’but for’ test (but for D’s actions, V would not be hurt)
R v White
2) Legal Causation
D’s actions are more than ‘de minimus’
R v Kimsey
D’s actions are the ‘operating and substantial cause’ and no need to be the ‘sole cause’
R v Smith
3) New Intervening Acts (Novus Actus Interveniens)
If these break the chain of causation, D is not guilty
thin skull rule – take your victim as you find them (Blaue)

Question 13

D must have the mens rea for whichever unlawful act caused the death case e.g

Answer 13

R v Lamb
If D does not have the mens rea of the original unlawful act, they cannot be guilty of UAM.

Here D had not known the gun was real, so could not have the mens rea for assault, and therefore could not be guilty of UAM