1. G153 2011-2
Miss Hart
Offences Against the Person:
Involuntary
Manslaughter
2. Starter:
It’s dominoes time!
Sort out the dominoes to recap all of murder
and voluntary manslaughter...
3. Starter:
Some things to think about...
What is different about these forms of
manslaughter compared to the voluntary
manslaughter cases?
Why don’t we call these ‘partial defences’?
Can you think of any areas or cases we have
done already which may crop up here?
4. Types...
(
Gross
Negligence
( Reckless
Act
Constructive
Act
Does this really exist...
... Or is it just another
form of gross neg?
5. What do we mean by involuntary?
• A teenager pushes a stone off a
These are all blameworthy in
bridge
the eyes of the law.
• An anaesthetist doesn’t notice the Blameworthy enough to argue
tube is stuck for ten minutes. involuntary manslaughter
• A man bullies his wife and she kills
herself
Are they all equally
• A landlord doesn’t check the gas blameworthy to you?
fire
Which do you think have a
justifiable argument?
• A man sets his house on fire so
that the council will move him.
6. Type One:
Constructive Act Manslaughter
Element One: your AO2 response...
Developing
Why is it called constructive act?
Can you Two: any problems with this
Element spot
definition?
Who is going to be in charge of
liability? Three:
Element
Why might we be justified in imposing
liability here?
Element Four:
7. What type of manslaughter are each of
these situations?
Voluntary or Involuntary
James kills Louise by
James kills Louise
James kills Louise
James kills Louise. is
stabbing her through
James kills Louise by
whilst drunk. He He
because she taunts
isthe heartfrom brain
suffering herand the
punching heronce in
pushing her into she
drowning after the
her doctor in fails
him about being
road,noticecausinghis
the chest, that by her
damagethinking theto
water, causedjustan
threatens to kill
to intending that
beaten up by his
maketo blow hasthe
earlier a tube who
she is break up on
rib her trip has
oxygen fish and
son. She to
younger sister on a
head and nowletedge. a
previouslybe heart.his
needs to her loses
the pavement free.
become dislodged.
pierce hit him on
regular basis
number of ocassions.
temper easily.
8. Element One:
Unlawful Act
R v Church
R v Nedrick
R v Hancock and Shankland
The rules...
R v Lowe 1973
R v Lamb 1967
R v Franklin 1883
9. Element Two:
Dangerous Act
R v Church 1966
How is it
“An act which all sober and judged?
reasonable people would realise
would subject V to at least some
harm”
What kind of
actions might it
cover?
Larkin 1943
What issues and
Carey & Others 2006 problems can you
spot?
10. What kind of harm may be enough?
Rule One: Rule Two:
The dangerous act The dangerous act may be aimed
may be aimed at a at property
third party
Rule Three:
There must be a risk of physical harm – fear
R v Mitchell or apprehension isn’t enough
... except where V’s
frailty is obvious to
the reasonable
man. Why?
12. Homework
1. Complete your evaluation of the drugs
cases
13A Friday 11th November
13C Thursday 10th November
2. Revise the whole of murder and
voluntary manslaughter for an end of
unit test on 15th November 2011
Note: Please bring your causation essays to the next lesson.
13. Finally:
Can you recap last lesson by matching the
cases and tests to the areas?
Unlawful Act Dangerous Act
Psychological harm Can be targeted
Can be targeted may be enough at property
at a third party
Franklin
Church
Lowe D
Can take into account
Lamb Must be a
anything which is obvious to
Must be an act criminal, not a civil
the reasonable person
not omission wrong
Dawson
Goodfellow Mitchell
Must be a risk of some harm
obvious to the reasonable Must be an
person. unlawful act
14. Element Three:
Causing the Death
Applying the Law
R v Lewis 2010 Can you spot the elements?
D was driving home in the early Unlawful Act
morning. Students were crossing the
road and one hit the car. D got out of
the car and pushed the woman who Dangerous Act
hit the car. Her brother, V, intervened
and then ran off. D ran after him, and V Such that all sober and
ran into the path of another car and
died. responsible person would
foresee
Causing the death
15. A problem?
What about the person who supplies the drug, or
even prepares it. Is this a dangerous act?
s.23 Offences Against the Person Act 1861
“administer a noxious substance”
R v Cato 1976 R v Dalby 1982
• D was a drug addict who lawfully
Two friends spent a night injecting obtained drugs on prescription. He gave
each other with heroin and water some of the tablets to V, also known to
mixes. The victim had prepared the be a drug addict. V had consumed a
large quantity of the drug in one
mixture but Cato had injected it. session, and subsequently injected
himself with other substances. The
following morning he was found to have
died of a drug overdose
16. It’s the “inbetween” bit which causes problems!
Kennedy Dias Rogers
1999 2002 2003
18. Element Four:
Mens Rea
Newbury and Jones 1976
What issues are raised by this case and its ratio?
19. Did you understand?
Shortly there are going to be a number of case descriptions below. You need
to say the case and the element!
Challenge one:
Name the elements of constructive act
A long fight and
Mere Not anymore!(by
Boy shoots friend of a
Injecting your friend
... chase with
preparation
will makeis enough
syringe you liable
accident)
Man hits girlfriend
students, which
Sets his house on fire
Boys throw rocks at
begins and ends with
then drowns
to get a new one
trains.
RvR hitting a car. 2
girlfriend
vKennedy No.
Kennedy No.1
R v Cato
R v Lamb
Illegal Act/
R Illegal Act/and
v Newbury
RIllegal Act/
Illegal Act
CausingChurch
v Lewis death
R v the
Goodfellow
Causing the 2010
Jonesdeath
Causing the death
Causing the Act
Dangerousdeath
Mens rea
20. Starter:
Read the case below. Using what you know about the laws on constructive act
manslaughter, decide whether or not he is legally responsible for the death.
R v Arobieke 1988
D’s initial conviction was based on his presence at a
railway station which had caused the victim, whom
he knew to be terrified of him, to attempt an escape
by crossing the railway tracks, with the result that
he was electrocuted.
Verdict:
The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction on the ground that there had been
no criminal act by the defendant, as the evidence did not show that the
defendant had physically threatened or chased the deceased.
21. R v Adomoko 1994
1. What was D’s duty to V?
2. What had he failed to do?
3. When do you think that he goes from simple negligence to gross negligence?
4. What is the key question when looking at the negligence of D?
5. What did the expert witnesses think of his conduct?
6. What are the four key elements of manslaughter by gross negligence?
7. What does Lord Mackay think of R v Seymour?
8. Which other duties and cases can you think of which may fall into this area of
the law?
22. Element One:
Duty of Care
Donoghue v Stevenson
1932
“You must take reasonable care to
avoid acts and omissions which you can
reasonably foresee would be likely to
injure your neighbours.
Who then is my neighbour?
The answer seems to be persons who
are so closely and directly affected by
my act that I ought reasonably to have
them in contemplation as being so
affected when I am directing my mind
to acts or omissions which are called
into question.”
23. Case Duty? Owed by Facts? Basis of the
whom? Duty?
Singh 1999 Duty to maintain
property
D owner & master of ship. Knew engines may
Litchfield 1998 Captain and crew fail due to fuel contamination. Ship drifted
onto the rocks and three crew died.
You have the answers
Khan & Khan 1998 Possible duty to
summon
assistance?
Possible duty not to
on the cards in front
Dias 2002 supply and prepare
drugs for another?
Pittwood 1902 Gate operator and
of you…
public
D was a lorry driver bringing 60 illegal Simple duty owed
Wacker 2002 immigrants in. Closed the air vent on the ferry on facts [despite
to prevent detection, and forgot to open it illegal nature]
again. Ferry was delayed and 58 were dead.
Can you sort them all out from the clues on the grid?
Stone & Dobinson Duty to continue with
care when
established.
Gibbins & Proctor Parents and children Specific
relationship
Willoughby 2004 Person in a joint
enterprise owes a
duty to the other.
24. The answers!
Things to note...
The duty situation have gone
beyond the civil law.
The list of duties is not finite!
25. Element Two:
Breach of Duty Causing Death
The
Duty must
breach Liability
have been
caused for D!
breached
death
26. Questions... Questions....
What if V does
something which
puts them in
danger, even
when they have
been warned?
Do they still have
a duty of care?
R v Winters 2010
27. A solution to the drugs issue?
The courts have already said that it is not constructive act
manslaughter as D’s voluntary actions break the chain.
R v Evans (Gemma) 2009 1. What is the ratio of this case?
2. What is the role of the jury in
gross negligence cases?
3. What had D done?
4. What was D’s duty and how was
it established?
Extension:
Why was her mother What was the question the court
should consider in determining
not the subject of an whether or not D owed a duty of care?
appeal?
28. Element Three:
Gross Negligence
The action must have been so wrong in all the circumstances as to
be deserving of criminal punishment...
R v Bateman 1925
“Such disregard for life and
safety of others as to
This is to crime against
amount left up to
thethe deserving of
state jury
punishment.”
29. Starter:
Without looking at your handout or anything else…
How much detail can you add to the brainstorm?
Think definitions… cases… examples…
Element Three:
Element One:
Gross Negligence
Manslaughter
Element Four:
Element Two:
30. Which of the following defendants may
be liable for the death of their victim?
Dave, a lifeguard is on his way out of Dr James treats Karen for stomach
the pool after finishing his shift when problems but misses the ulcer in her
he sees Louis slip and fall into the stomach. The ulcer bursts and Karen
water dies.
Sarah believes that all blood is Vic and Bob decide to rob a bank and
contaminated and refuses to let her 6 break into the safe to steal money. Bob
year old son, Reece, be given any becomes stuck in the safe and dies
blood after an accident. Reece dies before he can be found.
31. Element Four:
Risk of Death
Stone and Dobinson Bateman
Andrews v DPP
Or
Which to choose?
Adomako
“In my opinion the law as stated in these two authorities
[Bateman; Andrews] is satisfactory as providing a proper
basis for describing the crime of involuntary
manslaughter.... Examples in which this was done, to my
mind, with complete accuracy are Reg. v. Stone”
32. The solution….
R v Misra & Another
The question is “not whether D’s
negligence was gross and
additionally a crime but
whether his behaviour was
grossly negligent and
consequently criminal” Judge LJ
In other words: the outcome not
the offence is the only uncertain
thing.
A risk of death only was sufficient.
33. As a class…
Complete the crossword!
Demonstrate your knowledge of Gross Negligence
Across
3. Case which showed that a threat to
life was only enough (7)
5. Well, he certainly wacked a lot of
them! (6)
6. Most recent case on the problem of
supplying drugs (5)
7. People who must decide whether a
duty exists (4)
8. The other way to commit gross
negligence manslaughter (8)
Down
1. Key Case (7)
2. One of the two ways gross negligence
manslaughter can be committed (3)
3. What must have happened to D's
duty of care (6)
4. Who, according to Lord Atkin, do you
owe a duty to? (9)
5. Cold case which illustrates that even
if D ignores you, you might owe a duty
(7)
34. Reckless Act Manslaughter
Old Law... New Law...
Seymour Lidar
D sees risk of death or serious injury as highly probable, goes ahead and death results.
35.
36. Splash, splash. Oh this looks like a nice
How nice am I? Have a lovely syringe.
place to dump some rubbish.
You’re old! You’re frail!
Lorry v Car sandwich Neigh, neigh, choo, choo
Oops… is he breathing?
Lovely Land Rover! Bump! Any chance Knee, infection, dead Lovely belt…
I could actually get in the car? tighter…
tighter…
Let’s play How do you tell
I know how I’ll get a new catch… they’re dead
house… and lose my family choo, choo. again? Splash! Eww! What a
horrible drink.
What a lovely ship, Scare me, I’ll drop dead
shame about the fuel Go on, shoot me!
(though I look ok)
Revolver? What’s a
Gimme revolver?
Breathe in… You want me to
breathe not? rent, honest I’ll
shave? But I’m a I can see a vein…
look after you.
girl!
How much do you want? No To breathe or not to breathe, that is the
matter to me if your well question
38. Emma hires Fred, a qualified electrician, to re-wire her house. She is
unhappy when she notices sparks coming from the switches as she turns
some lights on or off. Emma complains to Fred who returns to do some
checks. He assures her that everything is in order and perfectly safe. The
next morning, Emma goes to take a shower in the bathroom. When she
turns on the shower control, she receives an electric shock that causes
her to fall and bang her head, knocking her unconscious. Fortunately, her
friend, Gita, arrives almost immediately and discovers Emma. Gita calls
an ambulance and Emma is rushed to hospital. While Emma is still
critically ill she develops an infection.
Hugh, a junior doctor employed by the hospital, fails to read Emma's
medical notes properly. The notes clearly show that Emma is allergic to
penicillin. Hugh gives Emma penicillin to treat the infection. As a result of
her allergy Emma dies.
Discuss the liability of Fred and Hugh for Emma’s death. [50]
39. Plenary
How confident are you with involuntary
manslaughter?
On your post it..
1. One thing you are
confident with after this
lesson.
2. One question you have
or one thing you are still
not sure of.
