Short Answers - 1 Flashcards
(21 cards)
What is Culpable Homicide?
It is the blameworthy killing of a person by another. The three main types of culpable homicide is murder, manslaughter and infanticide.
Outline “M’Naghten’s Rules”
The M’Naghten Rules are used to determine if a defendant is legally insane. According to the test, a person is considered insane if, due to a mental illness, they either didn’t understand what they were doing or didn’t know that it was wrong.
List four statutory legal duties in respect of the Crimes Act 1961:
Section 151: Provide the necessaries and protect from injury
Section 152: Provide necessaries and protect from injury to your charges when you are a parent or guardian
Section 153: Provide necessaries as an employer
Section 157: Avoid omissions that will endanger life
List the difference between counselling or attempting to procure murder (S174) and conspiracy to murder (S175)?
- Section 174 only counts if the murder was to happen in NZ
- Section 175, it doesn’t matter where the murder is planned to happen
- Section 174 only applies if the murder doesn’t actually happen
- Section 175 is a crime even if no one is killed, planning is enough
S159 (1) & (2) CA 1961 defines when a child becomes a human being and is therefor able to be murdered under S158. Detail the provisions of S159(1) & (2):
S159(1):
A child is considered a human being under this law as soon as it is fully born and leaves its mother’s body, regardless of whether it has started breathing, has its own blood circulation, or whether the umbilical cord is cut.
S159(2):
If a child dies because of injuries before, during, or after birth, it is considered homicide.
Define ‘Homicide S158, CA 1961:
Homicide is the killing of another human being, directly or indirectly, by any means whatsover.
What was held in ‘R v Mane’:
A person cannot be convicted as an accessory to a crime if their involvement occurred after the crime was completed.
State the ingredients of Infanticide S178, CA 1961:
• While the balance of her mind was disturbed by reason of
• Her not having fully recovered from the effect of having given birth to a child or the effect of lactation or any other disorder,
• To such an extent that she should not be held fully responsible, caused the death of her child, in a manner amounting to culpable homicide and thereby committed infanticide.
What does ‘R v Myatt’ state about an unlawful act in respect of S160(2) CA 1961:
Before an act can be considered unlawful for causing culpable homicide, it must be an action that could likely harm the deceased, or a group of people that person belonged to.
What was held in ‘R v Tomars’:
Formulates the issues in the following way:
(1) Did the accused threaten, scare or deceive the deceased?
(2) If so, did that make the deceased do something that lead to their death?
(3) Was the deceased’s action, a natural result of what the accused did?
(4) Did the victim’s actions, which were foreseeable, play a significant role in their death?
In general, no one is criminally responsible for the killing of another by any influence of the mind. What are the exceptions to this rule?
- Wilfully frightening a child under 16 years of age
- Wilfully frightening a sick person (mentally or physically)
What is meant by the term “justified?” Provide two examples:
Some acts that result in death may be “justified,” meaning the person who committed the act is not legally liable, either criminally or civilly.
Examples include:
Self defence - Section 48: where homicide occurs to protection oneself
Preventing suicide or stopping a serious crime - Section 41: where homicide happens to prevent immediate harm to someone or their property.
Why is attempted murder one of the most difficult offences in the CA 1961 to prove beyond reasonable doubt?
It must be shown that the accused intended to commit the full offence. For example, in an attempted murder case, the prosecution must prove that the accused actually intended to kill (R v Murphy)
What are the ingredients to accessory after the fact to murder?
Knowing any person to have been party to a murder, receives, comforts, assists that person or tampers with or actively suppresses evidence against that person in order to enable him to escape after arrest or to avoid conviction.
Define the term “Suicide Pact”, S180(3), CA 1961:
It is an agreement between two or more people to end their lives together. It doesn’t matter how they plan to do it, but for any actions taken to count as part of the pact, the person must have a clear intention to die as part of that agreement at the time of those actions.
R v Forrest & Forrest:
The best evidence possible in the circumstances should be adduced by the prosecution in proof of the Victims age.
How do New Zealand Courts deal with a defence of ‘Automatism’ arising out of taking alcohol and/or drugs?
In New Zealand, courts generally allow the defence of automatism (caused by alcohol or drugs) for basic intent crimes. However, they will likely reject it if the person’s state of mind was self-induced, they are to blame, and the consequences were foreseeable.
List the ingredients for S48, CA 1961 (Self-defence or defence of another):
• Every one is justified in using
• In the defence of himself or another,
• Such force, as in the circumstances as he believes them to be, it is reasonable to use.
What was held in ‘R v Ranger’:
If the accused genuinely believed she and her son were in danger of being shot after a struggle, it may be unfair to say the jury couldn’t possibly doubt whether it was reasonable for her to use a knife first in that moment.
Provide three guidelines in respect of consent regarding assault:
(1) Everyone has a right to consent to a surgical operation.
(2) Everyone has a right to consent to the infliction of force not involving bodily harm.
(3) No one has a right to consent to their death or injury likely to cause death.
What is the four point test for proving an unlawful act for manslaugther?
(1) The act must be intentional
(2) The act must be unlawful
(3) The act must be dangerous
(4) The act must cause death
