GDL - Murder/Voluntary Manslaughter

Question 1

why is loss of control a special defence?

Answer 1

because it is available for murder only

Question 2

why is loss of control only a partial defence?

Answer 2

because if successful, D will be convicted of voluntary manslaughter rather than murder

Question 3

actus reus of murder

Answer 3

the ‘unlawful killing of a human being under the King’s Peace’

Question 4

rule for factual causation (R v Dyson)

Answer 4

any action which accelerates death is a cause

Question 5

A defendant will be criminally liable for voluntary manslaughter if they:

Answer 5

Committed the AR and MR of murder BUT
can rely on one of the special defences to murder - loss of control or diminished responsibility

Question 6

mens rea of murder

Answer 6

Malice aforethought - intention to kill or intention to cause GBH

Question 7

When will killing be lawful?

Answer 7

Killing enemy soldiers in battle, advancement of justice, self-defence

Question 8

When is a person ‘in being’?

Answer 8

born alive and capable of independent life

Question 9

can you murder a corpse?

Answer 9

no

Question 10

can an unborn child be murdered?

Answer 10

a child must be fully expelled from the mother’s body and born alive

Question 11

GBH means

Answer 11

‘serious harm’

Question 12

Is oblique intent a form of intention?

Answer 12

No, oblique intent is not intention but evidence of it

Question 13

special defences to murder

Answer 13

loss of control and diminished responsibility

Question 14

burden of proof for diminished responsibility

Answer 14

defence must prove on the balance of probabilities that the defendant was acting under diminished responsibility

Question 15

Is diminished responsibility available as a defence for an attempt?

Answer 15

No, you cannot argue DR for attempted murder

Question 16

Full definition of murder

Answer 16

Unlawful killing of a human being under the King’s Peace with malice aforethought

Question 17

Can voluntary intoxication be a defence to criminal liability?

Answer 17

No, the law does not generally allow voluntary intoxication to afford a defence to criminal liability

Question 18

how should “substantial impairment of the defendant’s ability” be interpreted?

Answer 18

‘substantial’ should have its ordinary meaning, and therefore the jury do not need to be advised on it. If further guidance is required, the judge should interpret ‘substantial’ as meaning ‘more than merely trivial’

Question 19

Who decides whether the defendant’s ability is substantially impaired?

Answer 19

the jury

Question 20

burden of proof for loss of control

Answer 20

burden on prosecution; only need to disprove one of the components for the defence to fail

Question 21

3 essential components of loss of control defence

Answer 21

The defendant:
Lost self control
Due to fear trigger and or anger qualifying trigger
And a normal person might have acted in a similar way

Question 22

To prove loss of self-control, the defendant must have been unable t

Answer 22

Restrain themselves

Question 23

How does delay affect loss of control?

Answer 23

The longer the delay between provocation and killing, the less likely it is that the defendant lost self control.

Question 24

threshold for fear trigger

Answer 24

defendant must fear serious violence or feel seriously wronged

Question 25

3 parts to the anger trigger

Answer 25

Things said and/or done Constitutes circumstances of an extremely grave nature Caused the defendant to have a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged

Question 26

When can the defendant not rely on the anger trigger?

Answer 26

a) Incited as an excuse to use violence: s 55(6)(b) b) The thing said/done constituted sexual infidelity

Question 27

"circumstances of an extremely grave nature" for anger trigger

Answer 27

judged objectively - must have been unusual and not trivial

Question 28

In the normal person test for anger trigger, the normal person has

Answer 28

ordinary powers of tolerance and self-restraint

Question 29

When can sexual infidelity be considered?

Answer 29

if it is integral to and forms an essential part of the context in which to make a just evaluation of the qualifying trigger

Question 30

How does voluntary intoxication impact loss of control defence?

Answer 30

intoxication will be ignored if it has no connection to the things said or done which make up the qualifying trigger

Question 31

Rule for diminished responsibility and intoxication from R v Dowds

Answer 31

the defendant cannot rely on diminished responsibility if they were voluntarily intoxicated and had no abnormality of mental functioning

Question 32

Rules for alcohol dependency syndrome

Answer 32

ADS must be a significant factor in leading the defendant to consume alcohol and an abnormality of mental functioning must arise from ADS

Question 33

D’s drug or alcohol addiction can be taken into account in assessing the magnitude of the qualifying anger trigger if

Answer 33

D was taunted about the addiction

Question 34

In the normal person, if D is addicted to drugs or alcohol, this will be a characteristic given to the

Answer 34

normal person but the normal person will still have normal levels of tolerance and self-restraint and be sober

Question 35

When will sexual infidelity prevent a defendant from being able to rely on the anger trigger?

Answer 35

When the thing said/ done constituted sexual infidelity