Unlawful Act Manslaughter Flashcards
Define /What is Unlawful Act Manslaughter?
Unlawful Act Manslaughter occurs when there is an unlawful killing of a reasonable person under the King’s peace, but the D did not intend to kill the V.
What are the four elements of Unlawful Act Manslaughter?
- Unlawful act – A criminal, positive act.
- Dangerous act – Would the reasonable person see a risk of some harm?
- Causation – The act must have caused the death.
- Mens rea – D must have the MR for the unlawful act.
What must the unlawful act be?
•The act must be a criminal offence, not a civil wrong (e.g. assault, battery, arson).
•It must be a positive act, not an omission like in (R v Lowe, R v Khan & Khan).
•The act can be directed at property as in R v Goodfellow).
How do you apply the unlawful act to a scenario?
•Identify the unlawful act committed by D.
•Example: “Here, D committed battery against V, which is a criminal offence and a positive act.”
What makes an act dangerous?
•Test: Would a reasonable person see a risk of some harm (R v Church)?
•The act does not need to be directed at V (R v Mitchell).
•The reasonable person does not take into account D’s personal characteristics.
How do you apply the dangerous act to a scenario?
•Explain why D’s act would or would not be seen as dangerous by a reasonable person.
•Example: “D’s act of pushing V down the stairs would be considered dangerous as it carries a risk of some harm.”
What is factual causation in UAM?
But for D’s act, V would not have died (R v Pagett).
What is legal causation in UAM?
D’s act must have been a more than minimal cause of death (R v Kimsey).
D does not need to be the total cause.
What if there are intervening acts?
•There must be no intervening acts that break the chain of causation.
•Examples:
•Acts of V (e.g. self-injection of drugs) – R v Kennedy.
•. Acts of a third party – Must be unforeseeable to break the chain.
What is the mens rea for UAM?
D must have the intention or be reckless for the original unlawful act, not the death (R v Newbury & Jones).
If D had the MR for any act in the chain of events leading to V’s death, this is sufficient (R v Le Brun).
How do you apply mens rea to a scenario?
•Identify D’s intention or recklessness.
•Example:
•Intention: “D intended to punch V, so he had the MR for battery.”
•Recklessness: “D pushed V carelessly, knowing there was a risk of harm.”
What is the conclusion for UAM?
•If all four elements are satisfied, D is guilty of Unlawful Act Manslaughter.
•Sentence: Discretionary life sentence, but no minimum sentence.
