Voluntary Manslaughter Flashcards
What act governs loss of control?
s54 and s55 Coroners and Justice Act 2009
What is step 1 ‘loss of control’
Defendant must have lost their self-control at the time of the actus reus
Loss of control need not be sudden
Cumulative loss of self-control may be possible: R v Dawes
What is step 2 ‘by a qualifying trigger
s55 of the act suggetst that this can be froim a fear of sreious violence from the victim
New concept protects women of domestic abuse and homeowners protecting property
Test is subjective and is what the defendant fears
s55 of the act also states that things said and done of an extremely grave character causing a sernse of being justifiable wrong is a qualifiying trigger
Narrow approach becasue what is “justified” is an objective test
What is step 3 ‘Would a reasonable person have actred the same way?’
Objective test asks whether a person of the same age and sex would have acted the same way
What act governs diminished responsibility?
s52 Coroners and Justice act 2009
What is step 1 of DR ?
The defendant is suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning which arose from a recognised medical condition
Narrow definition but a more modern approach which takes into account an understanding of mental health issues
R v Martin (Anthony) would have succeeded under this act. Parnoid homeowner killing robbers
What is step 2 of DR?
The abnormality of mental functioning must be a significant contributory factor of the killing
Means that the abnormality must cause or at least be a significant contributory factor to the killing
if R v Dietcshmann was under the new act it is unclear whether it would have past the first hurdle of depression being recognised as a medical disorder. Does not matter if drinks or drugs are involved the medical condition overrides them as the significant contributor to the killing
What is step 3 of DR?
The abnormality of mental functioning must have substantially impaired the defendant’s ability to understand the nature of their conduct from a rational judgement or exercise self control
