Unlawful Act Manslaughter Flashcards
What 3 points must be established for unlawful act manslaughter?
- The accused committed an unlawful act
- The act was dangerous in the sense that a sober and reasonable person would inevitably recognise that it carried some risk of harm
- It was the unlawful act of the accused which CAUSED the victim’s death
What cases do you need for the AR of ‘the accused committed an unlawful act’?
R vs Lamb
R vs Gray
R vs Corion-Auguiste
What is the POL from R vs Lamb and R vs Gray?
There was no fear, meaning no assault was committed = no unlawful act
What is the POL from R vs Corion-Auguiste?
Fear was instilled in the old lady so there was an assault and an unlawful act was committed
What is the case for MR of ‘the accused committed an unlawful act’?
DPP vs Newbury and Jones
What is the POL from DPP vs Newbury and Jones?
They didn’t have the MR for the killing but they did for the original act so they were liable
What are the cases for ‘The act was dangerous in the sense that a sober and reasonable person would inevitably recognise that it carried some risk of harm’?
R vs Church
R vs Wooley and Campbell
R vs JM and SM
What is the POL from R vs Church?
He had acted unlawfully towards the woman in a way that a sober and reasonable person would see it as dangerous and would recognise that it carried some risk of harm
What is the POL from R vs Wooley vs Campbell?
Old man was so frightened that he had a heart attack and died
Was held that the harassment was dangerous and that it carried a risk of harm, they were both convicted
What is the POL from R vs JM and SM?
As long as some harm is foreseeable it does not matter what form that harm actually takes
What are the cases for ‘It was the unlawful act of the accused which caused the victim’s death’?
R vs Goodfellow
R vs Carey
What is the POL from R vs Goodfellow?
The act doesn’t need to be aimed act the victim it just needs to cause their death
What is the POL from R vs Carey?
The unlawful and dangerous act must cause the death of the victim
What cases do you use if drugs are involved?
R vs Dalby
R vs Kennedy
What is the POL from R vs Dalby?
It was the injection which caused death and as this was a voluntary act by the victim, the chain of causation was broken and the defendant was acquitted
What is the POL from R vs Kennedy?
Even though the defendant supplied the drug and prepared it in the syringe, the victim still injected himself voluntarily which broke the chain of causation
What do you have to include at the end of point 3?
Legal and Factual Causation
What is factual causation and the case for it?
‘But for’ test
R vs White
What is the POL from R vs White?
‘But for’ the defendant’s actions his mum would’ve died anyway
What are the points for legal causation?
- Operative and substantive cause of death
- Intervening acts
- Thin Skull Test
What is the case for the operative and substantive cause of death?
R vs Smith
What is the POL from R vs Smith?
The medical negligence did not overwhelm the stab wound which remained the operative and substantive cause of death
What is the case for intervening acts?
R vs Muhamed
What is the POL from R vs Muhamed?
It was reasonably foreseeable that driving a very old car might be dangerous so the tyres blowing out was not an intervening act
What is the case for the thin skull test?
R vs Blaue
What is the POL from R vs Blaue?
The defendant does not need to know of their victims pre-existing conditions and they must take their victim as they find them
