Criminal: Homicide Flashcards
(18 cards)
To secure a conviction for murder, it must be proved that:
(i) The accused’s conduct caused the deceased’s death (actus reus);
(ii) The accused intended to kill or seriously injure some person (mens rea); and
(iii) The killing was unlawful.
What legislative provision governs Murder in Ireland?
Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1964
What does s. 4 of the 1964 Act say?
(1) Where a person kills another unlawfully the killing shall not be murder unless the accused person intended to kill, or cause serious injury to, some person, whether the person actually killed or not.
(2) The accused person shall be presumed to have intended the natural and probable consequences of his conduct; but this presumption may be rebutted.
What does “Transferred Malice” mean?
When an accused kills someone other than their intended victim, they are nonetheless guilty of murder
When could a killing not be unlawful?
When the accused was acting with a defence such as self-defence, provocation, necessity of circumstances, or automatism
What are the 2 types of Manslaughter?
Voluntary and involuntary
What is voluntary manslaughter?
When the accused kills with the intention for murder, but in a mitigating circumstance of self- defence, provocation, or diminished responsibility
What is involuntary manslaughter?
When the accused’s conduct caused the death of some person, but the accused did not intend to kill, or cause serious injury to, some person
What are the types of involuntary manslaughter?
Assault, Criminal Negligence, Criminal Dangerous act.
What must be proved to secure a conviction for manslaughter under assault manslaughter?
(i) X assaulted Z;
(ii) X’s assault caused Z’s death; and
(iii) At the time of the assault, X intended to cause less than serious injury but more than trivial or negligible injury.
What must be proved to secure a conviction for manslaughter under criminal & dangerous act manslaughter?
(1) That the defendant committed an unlawful act;
(2) That such unlawful act was a crime
(3) That the defendant’s unlawful act was a significant cause of the death of the deceased
(4) That the defendant’s act was objectively dangerous.
What must be proved to secure a conviction for manslaughter under criminal negligence manslaughter?
1) That the fatal negligence was of a very high degree; and was such as to involve, in a high degree, the risk or likelihood of substantial personal injury to others - Dunleavy, 1948
2) To any reasonable person the fact that a serious risk was unjustifiably taken with the life of another would be apparent. - Joel
What constitutes Dangerous Driving under Section 53 of the Road Traffic Act 1961?
Driving in a manner that a reasonably prudent motorist would clearly recognise as involving a direct and serious risk of harm to the public.
What constitutes Driving without due care and attention under Section 52 of the Road Traffic Act 1961?
According to Dunleavy, the prosecution must prove “ordinary carelessness” to secure a conviction for this offence.
What is infanticide?
The killing of a child under the age of 12 months by their mentally imbalanced mother may be infanticide. The balance of her mind was disturbed by reason of her not having fully recovered from the effects of giving birth to the child or by reason of a mental disorder consequent upon the birth of the child.
What constitutes an offence under Section 2(2) of the Criminal Law (Suicide) Act 1993 (Assisting suicide)?
A person aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the suicide of another.
What is Murder under s 3 of the 1990 Act?
(i) The murder of an on-duty guard or prison officer.
(ii) The murder of a foreign head of state, member of foreign government, or foreign diplomat, committed within the State and for a political motive.
(iii) A murder committed in the course or furtherance of certain offences under the Offences Against the State Act, 1939, or in the course or meaning of s 18 of the Offences Against the State Act, 1939.
Does the accused need to know about the criteria for s.3 murder to be convicted of it?
According to s 3(2)(a) of the 1990 Act:
A person shall not be convicted of murder to which this section applies or of an attempt to commit such a murder unless it is proved that he knew of the existence of each ingredient of the offence specified in the relevant paragraph of [(i) – (iii) above] or was reckless as to whether or not that ingredient existed.
