Unlawful Act Manslaughter Flashcards
What is involuntary Manslaughter
1)Unlawful killing
2)No men’s rea for murder
“When the D has unlawfully killed the V but contains no men’s rea for murder”
Four elements for unlawful act manslaughter
1) D kills by an Unlawful or Dangerous act
2) No Men’s Rea for murder
3) Mens Rea or unlawful act is present
4) D need not foresee death, or realise act is unlawful or dangerous
Summarised
1) Unlawful act
2) Dangerous
3) Causation
4) Men’s Rea for unlawful act
Unlawful act (R v Lamb)
D fired a revolver at his friend
Both were treating it as a joke
2 bullets in the chamber But weren’t in the firing position of the chamber
D didn’t think that pulling the trigger would rotate the chamber
HELD: Not an unlawful act manslaughter, the D did not have the men’s Rea, he didn’t realise the gun would go off
Need not be an offence against the person (DPP V Newbury & Jones)
D’s pushed a paving stone off a bridge, killing a guard on a passing train
Held: Property crimes can also from the basis of unlawful act manslaughter- the crime need not be an offence against the person
(R V GOODFELLOW)
Cannot be an omission (R V Lowe)
V was a child who died of neglect when D’s failed to take her to the doctors even though she had been very ill for several days
HELD: An omission does not constitute an unlawful act for the purposes of unlawful act manslaughter
Unlawful act must be dangerous (R V Church)
D made advances
Rejected by V
D knocked V into semi-conscious state
D though V was dead, he panicked and threw her into the river
V Drowned
HELD:
“Unlawful act must be such as all sober and reasonable people would inevitably recognise must subject the other person to the risk of some harm, resulting therefrom”
Objective test- D’s conduct is measured by the standard and reasonable person
Risks taken into account (R V Watson)
Burgled the house of an 87 year old (V)
The D verbally abused the V
After the D left, the V died of an heart attack
HELD:
During the course of the unlawful act the D had become aware that the V was old and frail, it followed that
“The reasonable and sober man would at that point be aware of this risk of some harm”
R V Dawson
D’s masked men who robbed a petrol station with a pick axe and replica gun
V had a heart condition, was behind the night counter , the D’s were outside
D’s fled when V pressed the alarm button. V died of a heart attack
HELD: Trial judge was riding to suggest the jury that “emotional disturbance” suffered through terror was “harm”. D’s conviction for manslaughter were quashed.
An act will be dangerous if it causes such shock as to result in injury, but not if it is likely only to frighten or cause upset to the victim
3) Causation (R V White) (R V Smith)
But for test
“But for D’s unlawful act, V would not have died?”
Test for legal causation
“Was D’s unlawful act more than a minimal cause of V’s death?”
Legal causation (R V Johnstone and Others)
V had a pre-existing heart condition
V played cricket with his sons hen a group of youths came up to him and shouted abuse spat at him.
D’s threw stones at him which caused the V to suffer a fractured cheekbone
V Died of a heat attack
D’s acts which were considered dangerous:
The throwing of stones
Fracturing of V cheekbone
Medial experts couldn’t conclude whether the spiting or shouting of abuse r the “dangerous act” caused the heart attack and death of the V. Jury were wrong in their conviction
Could not be established that the unlawful and dangerous ac was a more than minimal cause of the V’s death
What must also be considered with causation
1) Medical negligence
2) Victims own actions
3) Thin skull rule
Legal Causation - drug cases (R V Kennedy (No 2)
D Unlawfully supplied a syringe full of heroin to V.
V injected it and died of an overdose
Held: A victim injecting heroin voluntarily would break the chain of causation. D would not be liable for unlawful act manslaughter
Legal causation - Drug cases (R V Cato)
D and V injected each other with heroin. V died of an overdose
HELD:
D was liable for unlawful act manslaughter
Men’s rea for unlawful act
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Men’s rea for unlawful act
“There is no need for the D to foresee harm to another” (DPP V Newbury & Jones)
Legal causation - Drug cases (R V Cato)
D and V injected each other with heroin. V died of an overdose HELD: D was liable for unlawful act manslaughter
Legal Causation - drug cases (R V Kennedy (No 2)
D Unlawfully supplied a syringe full of heroin to V. V injected it and died of an overdose Held: A victim injecting heroin voluntarily would break the chain of causation. D would not be liable for unlawful act manslaughter
What must also be considered with causation
1) Medical negligence 2) Victims own actions 3) Thin skull rule
Legal causation (R V Johnstone and Others)
V had a pre-existing heart condition V played cricket with his sons hen a group of youths came up to him and shouted abuse spat at him. D’s threw stones at him which caused the V to suffer a fractured cheekbone V Died of a heat attack D’s acts which were considered dangerous: The throwing of stones Fracturing of V cheekbone Medial experts couldn’t conclude whether the spiting or shouting of abuse r the “dangerous act” caused the heart attack and death of the V. Jury were wrong in their conviction Could not be established that the unlawful and dangerous ac was a more than minimal cause of the V’s death
3) Causation (R V White) (R V Smith)
But for test “But for D’s unlawful act, V would not have died?” Test for legal causation “Was D’s unlawful act more than a minimal cause of V’s death?”
R V Dawson
D’s masked men who robbed a petrol station with a pick axe and replica gun V had a heart condition, was behind the night counter , the D’s were outside D’s fled when V pressed the alarm button. V died of a heart attack HELD: Trial judge was riding to suggest the jury that “emotional disturbance” suffered through terror was “harm”. D’s conviction for manslaughter were quashed. An act will be dangerous if it causes such shock as to result in injury , but not if it is likely only to frighten or cause upset to the victim
Risks taken into account (R V Watson)
Burgled the house of an 87 year old (V) The D verbally abused the V After the D left, the V died of an heart attack HELD: During the course of the unlawful act the D had become aware that the V was old and frail, it followed that “The reasonable and sober man would at that point be aware of this risk of some harm”
Unlawful act must be dangerous (R V Church)
D made advances Rejected by V D knocked V into semi-conscious state D though V was dead, he panicked and threw her into the river V Drowned HELD: “Unlawful act must be such as all sober and reasonable people would inevitably recognise must subject the other person to the risk of some harm, resulting therefrom” Objective test- D’s conduct is measured by the standard and reasonable person
Cannot be an omission (R V Lowe)
V was a child who died of neglect when D’s failed to take her to the doctors even though she had been very ill for several days HELD: An omission does not constitute an unlawful act for the purposes of unlawful act manslaughter
Need not be an offence against the person (DPP V Newbury & Jones)
D’s pushed a paving stone off a bridge, killing a guard on a passing train Held: Property crimes can also from the basis of unlawful act manslaughter- the crime need not be an offence against the person (R V GOODFELLOW)
Unlawful act (R v Lamb)
D fired a revolver at his friend Both were treating it as a joke 2 bullets in the chamber But weren’t in the firing position of the chamber D didn’t think that pulling the trigger would rotate the chamber HELD: Not an unlawful act manslaughter, the D did not have the men’s Rea, he didn’t realise the gun would go off
Summarised
1) Unlawful act 2) Dangerous 3) Causation 4) Men’s Rea for unlawful act
Four elements for unlawful act manslaughter
1) D kills by an Unlawful or Dangerous act 2) No Men’s Rea for murder 3) Mens Rea or unlawful act is present 4) D need not foresee death, or realise act is unlawful or dangerous
Today
What is involuntary Manslaughter
1) Unlawful killing 2) No men’s rea for murder “When the D has unlawfully killed the V but contains no men’s rea for murder ”
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Men’s rea for unlawful act
Back side
“There is no need for the D to foresee harm to another”
(DPP V Newbury & Jones)
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