Unlawful Act Manslaughter Flashcards
I
D may be charged with involuntary manslaughter, specifically unlawful act manslaughter
D
Unlawful act manslaughter is defined as a lesser unlawful act which causes the death of the victim there are 4 stages to prove
E
Stage 1 stages there must be an unlawful act manslaughter. The unlawful act must be a positive act not an omission (khan and khan) and it must be a crime not a civil wrong (Franklin)
A
Apply if it’s assault or battery
Assault
Lord Goff in Collin’s v Wilcox’s defines assault as an act which causes the v to apprehended immediate unlawful force
A
Apply if assault has been committed
Battery
Lord Goff in Collins’s v Wilcox’s defined battery as the actual infliction of unlawful force/ any touching of another person however slight can amount to a battery
A
Apply if battery has been committed
E
Secondly the unlawful act must involve a risk of harm. This is an objective test which asks would a reasonable person observing the act of seeing a risk of harm(church) the d need not be aware of the danger would be obvious to any sober and reasonable person (DPP v Newbury & jones
A
Apply
E
Stage 3 states did the unlawful act cause the v’s death. This is an issue of causation
1) factual causation uses the but for test but for the D’s actions would the result have happened anyway (white)
2) legal causation states the significant contribution were the D’s actions more than a slight or trifling link to the result (Kinsey)
3) causation issues
A
Apply
E
Stage 4 stages the d must have the means rea the intention to commmiy the lesser unlawful act (Goodfellow)
A
Apply
I
