Paper 1.10b - Loss of Control Flashcards
(15 cards)
Is loss of control a full or partial defence?
Partial.
Loss of control is a special defence. What crime is it available for?
Murder.
What does a successful loss of control defence mean for a defendant?
Reduces crime from murder to manslaughter.
What defence does loss of control replace before 2009?
Provocation.
What section of which Act sets out loss of control?
s54(1) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009
What are the three elements for loss of control?
- D must lose self control.
- There must be a qualifying trigger to lose self control.
- A person of the same sex and age would have acted in the same way (Objective Test).
What two sections of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 defines a total loss of control and what three things does it say about total loss of control?
s54(1) & s54(2)
- does not include ‘having a temper’.
- doesn’t need to be sudden.
- d must lose the ability to maintain judgement.
Loss of control does not accept revenge as a defence for murder. What case is an example of this?
Jewell
D shot V at point blank and escaped the scene. He was later caught and arrested with a survival kit in his car. CA decided that since he had enough mental planning to make an escape bag, he hadn’t lost control.
What constitutes a qualifying trigger in loss of control? What section of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 states this?
D fears serious violence to themselves or another. (Ward)
OR
Things said or done are of grave character and cause d a justifiable sense of being wronged. (Zebedee / Clinton)
s55
The case of Ward links to the qualifying trigger that d fears serious violence. What are its case facts?
D, D’s brother and V spent the night drinking. V waited outside for a taxi in the morning, but attempted to force his way back in due to the cold. This caused a fight between D’s brother and V. Fearing violence for his brother, D hit V with a pickaxe handle, killing V.
If D incites violence then he may not receive the qualifying trigger for fearing serious violence. What case relates to this?
Dawes
D found his wife and V asleep together on the sofa. He woke them up and they began to argue. D stabbed V. Since he incited the violence he did not get the qualifying trigger.
TRUE OR FALSE: Sexual infidelity is a qualifying trigger for loss of control because it is extremely grave in character and gives d a justifiable sense of being wronged.
False. The Coroners and Just Act 2009 specifically notes that it is not a qualifying trigger.
This explored in Clinton - where V has to taunt D for her cheating before it becomes a trigger.
Element three of loss of control is the objective test. What is the full description of element three?
A person of d’s sex and age with a normal degree of tolerance and self-restraint and in the same circumstance as d might have reacted in the same or similar way.
Element three of loss of control is : ‘A person of d’s sex and age with a normal degree of tolerance and self-restraint and in the same circumstance as d might have reacted in the same or similar way.’ What does circumstance refer to?
Does not refer to things that affect d’s tolerance; refers to the situation d is in.
EG being drunk is not a circumstance, but grieving a loss is.
What is the case example of element three of loss of control (objective test)?
Christian
D stabbed two Vs over an argument about shower temperature. A reasonable person would not have killed the two people so d was guilty.
