Constructive Manslaughter - Law LLB - criminal law 2
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Course
Criminal Law
Institution
University Of Sussex (UoS)
This is part of the notes bundle for the Homicide Topic in the Criminal Law 2 module.
Includes:
- Murder
- Voluntary Manslaughter
- Involuntary Manslaughter
Involuntary Manslaughter
- where the defendant has relevant AR but no MR with the intention to kill/seriously injure.
Unlawful act manslaughter: D commits a criminal act in dangerous circumstances, and this
causes the death of V.
Gross negligence manslaughter: D causes V’s death through criminal negligence.
Reckless manslaughter: D causes V’s death, reckless as to that result.
Constructive Manslaughter
Broad offence because the unlawful offence could be anything from battery to other defences
(seriously injuring)
1) Unlawful Act – Conduct
2) Objectively dangerous circumstances
3) Causing death - result
A form of constructive liability – where there is no MR when it comes to the result of the offence
Unlawful Act:
Base offence – if you take out the fact that V has died, what D be charged with
- Andrews – D killed a pedestrian by overtaking. Court held that a negligence-based
driving offence could not be an unlawful act. It had to be an ‘intrinsically criminal’ act
with an intention to kill.
Base offence has to be committed via an act rather than an omission for this specific offence of
unlawful acts within constructive liability –
- Lowe – D omitted to care for his child s1 Child and parents act and his child died. He
was charged with unlawful act manslaughter and breach of the act. But it was held the
unlawful act of manslaughter because his base offence was committed by omission
Once you’ve identified a qualified base offence, it essential that every stage is satisfied – Lamb –
D pointed revolver at V for a joke. Neither of them knew how it worked or that it was kill. But
when he pulled the trigger V died. He didn’t foresee any risk of harming the victim, so there was
no base offence committed, it was just an accidental death as opposed to a crime.
After establishing that the base offence has been committed, we need to show that D’s
behaviour is objectively dangerous to V.
Dangerousness
Edmund Davies J in Church [1996] 1 QB 59:
… the unlawful act must be such that all sober and reasonable people would inevitably recognise that it
must subject the other person to, at least, the risk of some harm resulting therefrom, albeit not serious
harm.
Watson [1989] Crim LR 730
Dawson (1985) 81 Cr App R 150
JM & SM [2012] EWCA Crim 2293
Dhaliwal [2006] EWCA Crim 1139
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