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A2 Law > Voluntary Manslaughter > Flashcards

Voluntary Manslaughter Flashcards

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1
Q

What is voluntary MS?

A

AR + MR for murder exist
But = mitigating circumstances which allow a partial defence
Avoids mandatory life sentence

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2
Q

Can a D be charged with MS?

A

No

Charged with murder, plead defence at trial

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3
Q

What are the 2 partial defences under VMS?

A
  1. Loss co control

2. Diminished responsibility

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4
Q

Where the 2 defences originally created?

A

Homicide Act 1957 (no longer refer to this)
There was:
- Provocation (being provoked led to death)
- Diminished responsibility (relating to D’s mental health)

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5
Q

Why was the partial defence of provocation replaced?

A

Recommendations for reform by the Law Commission in their report ‘Murder, MS and Infanticide 2006
Replaced with partial defence of Loss of Control
Under Coroners and Justice Act 2009

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6
Q

Where can the amended partial defences be found now?

What does the Act provide?

A

Under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Provides explanatory notes designed to help in interpreting + applying the leg

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7
Q

Under s54 (1) CJA 2009 a D is not convicted of murder if…

3 - LOC

A
  1. D’s acts/omissions resulted from LOC
  2. LOC had qualifying trigger
  3. Person of D’s sex, age, normal degree of tolerance + self-restraint in the same circumstances, might have reacted a similar/same way
    OBJECTIVE TEST, subj. elements (manipulate reasonable man)

ALL 3 PRAS MUST BE PROVEN

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8
Q

What is the 1st stage in proving the defence of LOC?

A

s54(2) - LOC need not to be sudden
(Duffy, old law, ‘sudden + temporary’)
Harder to prove over time

s54(4) - excluded a D who has acted in revenge

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9
Q

What does the judge and the jury decide in relation to LOC?

A

Judge decides if there = sufficient evidence to leave the defence to the jury
Jury decide if the killing has resulted form a LOC

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10
Q

What is the 2nd stage in proving the defence of LOC?

A

LOC had a qualifying trigger (s55)

  • fear of serious violence from V against D/ other ID person
  • things said/done of extremely grave character, caused D to have justifiable sense of being seriously wronged
  • COMBO OF BOTH
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11
Q

What section of the CJA 2009 explains the meaning of a qualifying trigger?

A

s55:

  • fear of serious harm form V against D/another ID person
  • things said/done of an extremely grave character that caused D to have a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged
  • Combo of both
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12
Q

What does s55 (3) state?
(1st qualifying trigger)

LOC

A

D lost control; genuine fear of serious violence from V against D/ another ID person
Fear doesn’t have to be reasonable
Judged SUBJECTIVELY
Ward (2012), D killed V after V attacked brother
Can’t be fear of future violence

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13
Q

What does s55 (4) state?
(2nd qualifying trigger)

LOC

A

LOC due to things said/done/both
Of extremely grave character
Causing D experience justifiable sense of feeling seriously wronged

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14
Q

What case gave the 1st interpretation of the meaning ‘LOC’ where there was a fear of serious violence?
Describe the case

A

R v Dawes (2013)
D found wife asleep with V on sofa (fully dresses)
D fatally stabbed V in neck
Was there a fear of violence form the V??
Held: no, V actually felt fear
Judged OBJECTIVELY BY JURY
Cts also rejected plea os self-defence

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15
Q

What did the CA say in the R v Dawes (2013) didn’t cross over into the threshold of LOC?

A

Normal irritation or even serious anger

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16
Q

What is the CJA 2009 unclear of in relation to LOC?

A

If the test = purely objective

OR whether the D will be judged against a person sharing characteristics of the D (subjective)

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17
Q

When does s55 (6) (a) (b) exclude a trigger of LOC?

A

If it was self-induced by the D in the first place

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18
Q

What does s55 (6) (c) exclude as a trigger of LOC?

What case illustrates this?

A

Sexual infidelity

R v Clinton (2012)

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19
Q

R v Clinton (2012)

(FB) - LOC

A

D killed wife after discovering affair on FB
Trial judge refused to let jury consider LOC due to exclusion of sexual infidelity
CA ordered retrial (judge’s misdirection)
At retail D pleaded G
CA: although = excluded as trigger, may still be relevant to the circumstances in which the D lost control

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20
Q

What was held but he CA in R v Clinton (2012)?

A

Although sexual infidelity is excluded as a qualifying trigger
May still be relevant to the circumstances the D lost control

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21
Q

What is the 3rd stage in proving the defence of LOC?

A

Standard control
Comparing D with ordinary person
OBJECTIVE TEST

22
Q

What circumstances are relevant in the 3rd stage of proving LOC?

A

ALL circumstances
EXCEPT D’s general capacity for tolerance + self-restraint
(history of abuse can be taken into account)

23
Q

what was held by the CA in the case R v Asmelash (2013)

A

LOC had to be taken into account WITHOUT reference to D’s VOLUNTARY intoxication
(drunkenness = irrelevant)
If sober person had reacted in same way, D couldn’t be deprived of defence

24
Q

Mohammed (2005) CA

(boy in bedroom) LOC

A

D had reputation for being strict, short-tempered
Returned from mosque, discovered daughter entertaining y. man in bedroom
D locked door, went to bedroom to get knife, returned
Y. man escaped through window
D followed daughter downstairs, stabbed her to death (least 19 times)
Convicted of murder
CA, deicide it D’s bad temper = relevant, ruled it wasn’t

25
Q

What did Lord Justice Scott Baker declare in the case of Mohammed (2005) CA?

A

D’s violence + short-temper are not relevant to how the reasonable man would’ve reacted; reasonable man = fixed other than a variable creature

26
Q

What are evaluation 6 points of the defence of LOC?

A
  1. Defence = wider (replaced sudden + temporary), helps women in violent R.ships
    (R v Ahluwalia 1993)
  2. Specifically denies someone who acted in revenge (public policy)
  3. Prove someone attacked; fear?
  4. D’s repose to trigger = judges objectively (characteristics affecting D’s capacity of self-control = excluded)
  5. No certainty that problems of provocation have been resolved (see with future cases)
  6. History of violence = taken into account (helps DA V’s)
27
Q

Where was diminished responsibility originally created?

A

s2 Homicide Act 1957 due to the narrow definition of insanity
Now found in 252 CJA 2009

28
Q

What did the Law Commissions report of M, MS and Infanticide 2006 say about the defence of DR?

A

‘Badly out of date’
Didn’t reflect a modern psychiatric approach
New streamlined definition of defence
Now encourages defence to be grounded in medical diagnosis
(Accommodates for future developments)

29
Q

What did the old DR defence refer to a D suffering from?

What is it now?

A

Was: ‘abnormality of the mind’
Now: ‘abnormality of mental functioning’

Been changed by s52 CJA 2009

30
Q

What does s52 CJA 2009 state about DR?

A

Person is NOT convicted of M if suffering from abnormality of mental functioning which:

  • arose from recognised med. condition
  • substantially impaired D’s ability understand nature of act/ form rational judgement/ exercise self-control
  • provides explanation for D’s acts/omissions in killing
31
Q

What is the test for ‘abnormality of mental functioning’ in DR?
What case does this come from?

A

Reasonable man test (same under old law)

Given in R v Byrne (1960)

32
Q

R v Byrne (1960)

DR

A

Sexual psycho
Suffered from perverted sexual desires
Whilst under influence, strangely girl, mutilated body
Conviction reduced to MS on appeal
Ct: abnormality of mental state meant ‘state of mind so different from ordinary person that reasonable man would call it abnormal’
OBJECTIVE TEST

33
Q

What was ‘abnormality if mind’ held to mean in the case of R v Byrne?

DR

A

State of mind so different from that of an ordinary person that the reasonable man would term it to be abnormal
OBJECTIVE TEST

34
Q

The abnormality of mental functioning must have arisen from a recognised condition by medical professionals.
What did this aim to do?

A

Modernise the defence
Bring it in line with medical understanding of mental illness
D only has defence is suffering from condition at time of killing

35
Q

Give examples of conditions that would’ve been accepted under the old definition of DR
Give cases that go with them

A

Covers wide range of conditions:

  1. Battered women syndrome (R v Ahluwalia)
  2. Paranoid personality disorder (R v Martin 2002)
  3. Psychopathy (R v Byrne)
  4. Depression (R v Gittens)
36
Q

R v Osbourne (2010)

DR

A

D had been smoking cannabis
Saw V walking past, fight broke out
V punched D in face (self defence) + left
A armed with plank of wood chased after D, hit V on head from behind
Convicted, murder
Appeal, argued ADHD made him behave impulsively + impaired judgement
CA: possible for ADHD to support defence BUT in case conviction upheld; more likely result of drugs and anger

37
Q

What was said by the CA in R v Osbourne about the use of DR?

A

ADHD could support the defence

BUT in this case = more likely that D’s smoking drugs + anger explained his conduct

38
Q

What was the term ‘substantially impaired’ held to mean in the case of R v Lloyd?

DR

A

More than trivial but less than total

39
Q

R v Lloyd (1967)

DR

A

D charged with murder of wife, strangled her
Pleaded DR under s2 Homicide Act 1957
According to medical evidence D = suffering from disease of abnormality
Doctors: his mental responsibility was impaired to some extent + that it was not minimal
CA: substantially impaired meant ‘more that trivial but less than total impairment’

40
Q

What case confirms the definition of ‘substantial impairment’ set in Lloyd?

A

R v Gold (2014)

41
Q

What must the abnormality in mental functioning provide?

DR

A

Explanation for the D’s involvement in the killing of the V
Abnormality should cause/ be significant contributory factor in causing D to kill
If abnormality made no difference, defence unavailable (Osbourne)

42
Q

What is unclear in the defence of DR?

A

Whether the courts will apply old law (looking at relevance of drugs/ alcohol) under the new definition

43
Q

R v Fenton (1975)

DR

A

D consumed large quantity of drink
Drew revolver, killed police officer
Drove police car to club, shot + killed 3 more people
Held that mental abnormality caused by drink/drug wasn’t usually sufficient for DR plea
BUT this case Ct said: 1 of the 4 things impairing his ability = drink, still evidence (ignoring this factor) that he had an abnormality of the mind

44
Q

What happens when D is intoxicated but has pre-existing abnormality of the mind?
What case illustrates this?

A

R v Gittens
D suffered from depression, consumed lot of drink + anti-depression pills, killed wife + step-daughter
Jury were told to IGNORE the effects of alcohol + see if there was still an abnormality
There was so convicted of MS

45
Q

What must the voluntary consumption of drugs/ alcohol be?

What case shows this?

A

IGNORED

R v Egan (1992)

46
Q

What was held by the HL in the case of Dietschmann?

A

Jury should ask had the D had been sober, would he still be suffering form a disease of the mind

47
Q

What 2 other exceptions can a D plead DR regarding intoxication?

A
  1. If D’s long term drug/alcohol abuse has lead to brain damage/ psychosis
  2. If drug addiction amounts to a disease
    BUT must prove that the urge to drink was so overwhelming that you couldn’t control It (Tandy)
48
Q

What must the jury consider when dealing with a case of an alcoholic killer?

A

Whether D’s craving for alcohol was(n’t) irresistible
Jury should ask if alcohol dependency (if recognised med condition) led to an abnormality of mental functioning which caused/ significantly contributed to D’s inability to understand the nature of his conduct (Wood)

49
Q

What are the 3 strengths of the reform of the DR defence?

A
  1. New defence takes account of modern medical knowledge (flexible)
  2. When D raises DR plea, prosecution can argue insanity and find them NG over all
  3. CJA 2009 didn’t define substantially but use meaning ‘substantially impaired’ given in Lloyd as guidelines
50
Q

What is a weakness of the reform of the DR defence?

A

Should the jury decide if a D was suffering from an abnormality of the mind at the time of the killing?
Surely a judge/ doctor/ psychiatrist should decide this

A2 Law (18 decks)

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