Voluntary manslaughter - LoC P1 Flashcards
What two types of defences is LoC
Partial defence - reduces the conviction from murder to vol mans
Special defence - only applies to murder
Who is the burden of proof on for LoC
Burden of proof is on the prosecution
Which statute sets out the defence of LoC
s54 Coroners and Justice Act 2009
What are the three stages of LoC
D’s acts and omissions in doing or being a party to the killing resulted from D’s loss of self-control,
The loss of self-control had a qualifying trigger, and
A person of D’s sex and age, with normal tolerance and self-restraint and in the circumstances of D, might have reacted in the same or in a similar way
What is the first stage of LoC
D must kill as a result of loss of self-control
Which case defined LoC
Jewell - D claimed his head was fucked up
What is the definition of LoC
Loss of ability to act with considered judgement
Does LoC need to be sudden
No - this was discriminatory towards women who are stereotypically slow burners
However, the longer the delay…
The less likely is the defence of LoC will succeed
Which case established that a cooley planned act of revenge is not loss of control
Ibram and Gregory
Which case showed that D remained out of control without a cooling off period - a father killed his sons drug dealer
Baillie
What is the second stage of LoC
LoC must have been caused from a qualifying trigger
How many triggers are there
3
What are all three qualifying triggers and their relevant statutes
S55(3) Fear trigger
S55(4) Anger trigger
S55(5) Combination trigger
What is meant by the S55(3) Fear trigger
D will need to show that he lost control because of genuine fear of serious violence - does not matter if this fear is unreasonable
Subjective: D must feel fear
Objective: D must fear serious violence
Which case showed that for the fear trigger, D must fear serious violence from V
Lodge
Which case showed that for the fear trigger, D does not have to fear for his own safety, but can fear for the safety of others (brother in this case)
Ward
What is meant by S55(4) Anger trigger
A thing or things done or said (or both) which constituted circumstances of an extremely grave character and caused D to have a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged
Justifiable is objectively tested
Which trigger has a higher threshold and why
Anger trigger to avoid absurd decisions
Which case shows the difference between evidence provided for provacation compared to LoC
Doughty
Which case showed that things said or done did not amount to a circumstance of extremely grave character - Incontinent father killed by son
Zebedee
What is meant by S55(5) Combination trigger
Combination of both the fear and anger trigger
How many Restrictions to the qualifying triggers are there
3
What is the S55(6)(a) restriction
Fear trigger - Ds fear of serious violence is disregarded if D incited something to be fearful of
Which case is used for S55(6)(a) where D incited violence by throwing bottle at V
Dawes
What is the S55(6)(b) restriction
Anger trigger - D cannot incite a thing said or done which causes him a sense of being seriously wronged
What is the S55(6)(c) restriction
Anger trigger - sexual infidelity cannot be a qualifying trigger
Which case shows S55(6)(c) restriction and involved D stabing V after she kissed another man
Hatter
Why was the case of Clinton significant for S55(6)(c) restriction
Judge should not of disregarded all the relevant triggers
He should have disregarded the sexual infidelity trigger but leave the other 2 (Mocking Ds mentl health and saying she didnt want the kids) as their own triggers to see if they qualify for anger/ fear
What is the last stage of LoC
A person of the same sex and age, with normal tolerance and self-restraint, would have reacted in the same way as D in the same circumstances
How many stages is in the third stage of LoC
3
What is the first stage in the last stage of LoC
A person of D’s age and sex
What is meant by ‘A person of D’s age and sex’
These are subjective criteria and acknowledge that there might be a different response by the genders, but also that age may impact upon how D acts
What is the second stage in the last stage of LoC
With normal tolerance and self-restrain
What is meant by ‘with normal tolerance and self-restrain’
The level of control must be reasonable
Personality disorders, short-tempers, voluntary intoxication and mental illnesses are ignored for this
Only characteristics of D considered is those relating to Ds circumstances
What are the 4 cases used for the aspects ignored for ‘with normal tolerance and self-restrain’
Rejmanski - personality disorder
Mohammed – short-temper ignored
Asmelash – voluntary intoxication must be ignored
Meanza - mental illness ignored
What is the last stage in the last stage of LoC
Would have reacted the same as D in the same circumstances
What is meant by ‘would have reacted the same as D in the same circumstances’
While short temper is not a relevant consideration, circumstances such as histor of abuse, epilepsy, depresson can affect the way D, and a reasonable man in D’s circumstances, would react
Which case showed that history and teasing for epilsepy, unemployment and depression can be considered to cause grave character
Gregson
Which case showed that history of sexual abuse as a child can be considered to cause a grave character
Hill
What is a summary comparison between LoC and Dim Rep
LoC applies when there are extraordinary external circumstances
DimRep applies when D himself is out of ordinary
