Self-test questions: Manslaughter

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. Humza owned a popular nightclub in the city centre. He did not want his nightclub to gain a reputation for encouraging violent drunken behaviour and had started to stand with his security guards during the evening. Patrons of the nightclub had to climb a flight of stairs to enter the club. Barry came up the stairs and Humza refused him admission. Barry responded by shouting loudly and appeared to be about to grab Humza, according to a witness. Humza was intimidated by Barry's large size and shouting. He believed Barry was about to attack him with his fists. In an effort to avoid this, Humza lunged at Barry with his full force and Barry fell down the stairs. The fall was such that Barry died from his injuries. Consider the following statements. Which one most accurately reflects the law relating to manslaughter and Humza's liability for Barry's death?

Following the case of R v Adomako, Humza will be guilty of gross negligence manslaughter, as he fell below the standard of behaviour expected of a nightclub owner. correct incorrect

Following the case of R v Lamb, Humza will be guilty of unlawful act manslaughter, as he satisfies both the actus reus and mens rea for the initial battery offence. correct incorrect

Following the case of R v Scarlett, Humza will not be guilty for the manslaughter of Barry, as he has a defence to the initial battery. correct incorrect

Following the case of R v Vickers, Humza will be guilty of Barry's murder, as he intended to cause him grievous bodily harm. correct incorrect

Following the case of R v Church, Humza will not be guilty of unlawful act manslaughter, because a reasonable, sober person would not foresee that his actions could lead to some kind of physical harm. correct incorrect

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. After a falling down a set of stairs Edward was rushed to hospital. He was diagnosed with a debilitating injury had damaged his spinal cord. He was unable to return home immediately. Laila, a junior doctor, had nearly finished a double shift and had not slept for 24 hours. She gave him painkillers without checking his records, which stated that he was allergic to certain painkillers. Edward died following an allergic reaction to the painkiller. Which of the following statements most accurately reflects Laila's potential liability for a homicide offence?

Laila will be liable for manslaughter by diminished responsibility, because her tiredness would be treated as a recognised medical condition as required by s. 2 Homicide Act 1957, amended by s. 52 Coroners and Justice Act 2009. correct incorrect

Laila will not be liable for gross negligence manslaughter as she did not do an innately criminal activity that caused his death. correct incorrect

Laila will be guilty of unlawful act manslaughter according to the test laid out in R v Newbury. correct incorrect

Laila will be liable for gross negligence manslaughter, as her actions fell below the standard expected of the reasonable doctor. Her junior status is not relevant to this assessment. correct incorrect

Laila will not be liable for gross negligence manslaughter as she was engaged in her employment and there was on obvious risk of death as required according to the case of R v Misra. correct incorrect

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. Donald hosted a birthday party for his five-year-old son. After the guests arrived the children began to play party games. One of the games involved jumping into a swimming pool in Donald's garden. One of the guests, Joey, a shy six-year-old, refused to take part in the game. However, as he was passing close by, Donald playfully pushed Joey into the pool. Joey hit her head on the bottom of the pool. Donald called for an ambulance immediately and pulled Joey out of the pool. However, Joey sadly died. Which of the following statements most accurately reflects Donald's potential criminal liability in respect of Joey's death?

Donald is most likely to be guilty of unlawful act manslaughter, as his actions satisfied the actus reus and mens rea of a battery in accordance with R v Lamb. correct incorrect

Donald is most likely not to be guilty of unlawful act manslaughter, as his actions were only playful. He believed he had an implied consent to do as he did and according to R v Jones his belief can be unreasonably held. correct incorrect

Donald is unlikely to be considered guilty of gross negligence manslaughter, as his breach of duty would not be considered by most juries to be gross. correct incorrect

Donald is unlikely to be guilty of unlawful act manslaughter as most juries are unlikely to take the view that his actions were dangerous, viewed objectively. correct incorrect

Donald is likely to be guilty of gross negligence manslaughter, as his breach of duty would be considered by most juries to be gross. correct incorrect

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. On a lovely sunny day at the beach Oswald takes a swim in the sea. He went further out than he realised and got into trouble when a wave pulled him under the water. Josh was nearby and pulled Oswald out of the water and to the safety of the shore. Oswald appeared to be unconscious and needed a first aider. Amina, a trained nurse, gave Oswald artificial respiration, however, she had been drinking alcohol throughout the day and she did a terrible job. Oswald died and the post mortem showed that the treatment he had received from Amina was a substantial cause of his death. Which of the following statement most accurately reflects the criminal liability of Amina for Oswald's death?

Amina would be liable for unlawful act manslaughter as she was negligent carrying out artificial respiration on Oswald. correct incorrect

Amina would be guilty of murder as she was reckless as to causing Oswald serious bodily harm. correct incorrect

Amina would not be liable for the offence of gross negligence manslaughter as she did not owe a duty of care towards Oswald. correct incorrect

Amina would not be liable for the offence of gross negligence manslaughter as she did not fall below the standard of care expected of a trained nurse. correct incorrect

Amina would most likely be liable for the offence of gross negligence manslaughter as the breach of her duty of care owed to Oswald was gross. correct incorrect

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. Draper and Felix (aged 15) liked watching old movies together and recently discovered the film 'The Fugitive'. They set out to recreate it as best they could. They found an old transit van, and drove it onto an unmanned level crossing and left it there, in the path of what they assumed would be the late evening heavy freight train that travelled slowly at night. They were wrong, the train that crashed into the van was a passenger train travelling at 110 mph. The crash caused a fire and 10 people were killed, including the driver and nine passengers. Draper and Felix were shocked that their actions had caused so many people to die.

Which of the following statements is the most accurate in regards to the criminal liability of Draper and Felix?

They are both guilty of murder as they caused the deaths of the people recklessly. correct incorrect

They are both guilty of manslaughter by diminished responsibility, because their age reduces their responsibility for the deaths of the people. correct incorrect

They are both not guilty of unlawful act manslaughter as they were not aware the circumstances were as dangerous as they transpired to be. correct incorrect

They are both not guilty of unlawful act manslaughter as they did not carry out a criminally unlawful act that caused the deaths of the people. correct incorrect

They are both guilty of unlawful act manslaughter as their original criminal act of criminal damage was dangerous, judged objectively and caused the deaths of the people. correct incorrect

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. Elsa was the carer for her grandmother, who was very demanding. One day her grandmother snarled at Elsa and said 'you are so useless, I hate you, you useless waste of space.' Feeling aggrieved Elsa did not visit her grandmother for a month. She would normally, in the space of a month, collected her grandmother's repeat prescription, made meals for her, washed her laundry and washed her. When she returned to her grandmother's house she found her grandmother had died. The house was in a foul state and her grandmother was very thin. The post mortem revealed that she had died of malnutrition. Which of the following statements most accurately reflects the criminal liability of Elsa for the death of her grandmother?

Elsa is unlikely to be liable for gross negligence manslaughter, as whilst she owed her grandmother a duty of care, she did not act and criminal liability only applies to actions not omissions. correct incorrect

Elsa is likely to be liable for unlawful act manslaughter, as she neglected her grandmother, which was objectively dangerous and caused her death. correct incorrect

Elsa is most likely to be liable for murder, as she intended to kill her grandmother and achieved this through omission. correct incorrect

Elsa is most likely liable for gross negligence manslaughter through omission, as she had a duty of care and a duty to act. As she breached these duties she is liable. correct incorrect

Elsa is likely to be liable for manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility because her grandmother had been cruel to Elsa and this made her unable to exercise control over herself. correct incorrect

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. Law students, William and Grace, were deliberating about what amounts to the correct definition of the word 'dangerous' in the context of constructive manslaughter. Which of the following statements most accurately reflects this definition according to current case law?

An act is dangerous where sober and reasonable people would consider there is a risk of injury, albeit not necessarily serious injury, from that act. correct incorrect

An act is dangerous where a sober and reasonable people with the defendant's characteristics would consider there is a risk of injury, albeit not necessarily serious injury, from that act. correct incorrect

An act is dangerous where a reasonable person would consider it to be so. correct incorrect

An act is dangerous where sober and reasonable people would consider there is a risk of serious injury from the act. correct incorrect

An act is dangerous where a sober and reasonable person with the defendant's characteristics would consider there is a risk of serious injury from the act. correct incorrect

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. Jamal's defence lawyer would like to raise the defence of loss of control manslaughter in respect of a murder charge. Which of the following statements applies in this situation?

Jamal's lawyer cannot raise the defence as it must be raised by the judge alone correct incorrect

Jamal's lawyer can only raise the defence if the judge is satisfied that there is sufficient evidence of provocation that caused Jamal's loss of control. correct incorrect

Jamal's lawyer will have to satisfy the judge that there is sufficient evidence that the killing was a result of a loss of control, that it came from a qualifying trigger and would have caused someone in his position to do as he did, to raise this defence. correct incorrect

Jamal's lawyer cannot raise the defence as it must be charged by the prosecution. correct incorrect

Jamal's lawyer can only raise this defence if the offence charged was attempted murder. correct incorrect

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. Horace was sacked from his job by his boss Cameron. On his way home, Horace stopped at a hardware store and purchased a variety of tools, including a hammer. He thought he might use them to do some chores around the hose now that her no longer had a job. However, he arrived home and discovered Cameron having sexual intercourse with his wife Kathy. Cameron looked up at Horace, grinned at him and said 'you loser! I can take everything you have away from you, your job, your reputation and your wife. It is very amusing.' Outraged Horace pulled the hammer out of his bag and hit Cameron 50 times around the head and upper body with it. Cameron died as a result of his injuries.

Which of the following statements most accurately reflects the application of the loss of control defence to Horace?

Horace will be automatically excluded from raising the partial defence to murder of loss of control manslaughter as he is disqualified under the sexual infidelity rule contained in s. 55 (6) (c) Coroners and Justice Act 2009. correct incorrect

Horace will not be able to rely on the partial defence to murder of loss of control manslaughter as he did not experience a fear of serious violence as required by s. 55 (3) Coroners and Justice Act 2009. correct incorrect

Whilst sexual infidelity is part of the circumstances Horace finds himself, he is not automatically excluded from raising the defence following the decision in R v Clinton. correct incorrect

Horace will not be able to successfully rely on the partial defence to murder of loss of control manslaughter as he did not exercise a normal degree of tolerance and self-restraint in the circumstances he found himself in. correct incorrect

Horace will most likely fail if he were to argue the partial defence to murder of loss of control manslaughter as no jury would ever be persuaded that a person of his sex and age, might have reacted as her did as required by s. 54(1)(c). correct incorrect

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. After years of domestic abuse, Angela was highly distressed by her husband, Alan's behaviour on a daily basis. One day Alan threw the meal Angela had cooked him into the bin and called her a useless cow, who would never find another man who could put up with her. Alan then demanded that she cook another meal for him. As Angela cooked his second meal, Angela began to feel more and more distressed and hopeless, thinking that she would never be able to be free of her husband, he would always find her and bring her down. The years of abuse came into her mind. She served him his meal, and as he began she struck him in the head with a very large kitchen knife. She did it many times, until she was sure he was dead and that she was free of him.

Which of the following statements most accurately reflects the application of the loss of control defence to Angela?

Angela will not be successful because she certainly acted out of revenge and s. 54 (4) Coroners and Justice Act 2009 would apply. correct incorrect

Angela may successfully argue the loss of control defence despite the fact she did not act immediately after the final things Alan had said and done according to s. 54(2) Coroners and Justice Act 2009. correct incorrect

Angela will certainly be successful as all cases where the defendant has experienced years of domestic abuse at the hands of the victim are deemed to be the result of a loss of control. correct incorrect

Alan did not direct any violence at Angela's person on the night of the killing and therefore the loss of control defence will not be available to Angela. correct incorrect

Angela will certainly not be able to successfully argue the defence of a loss of control manslaughter because it never applies to cases of domestic abuse. correct incorrect

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. Ethan broke into Matt's flat intending to steal something. Matt was in the flat sleeping, but awoke to find Ethan there. Realising that Ethan was trying to steal from the flat, Matt shouted at Ethan, 'you are such a stupid idiot, you look like a complete fool and such an ugly moron. Get out of my flat!' Matt then began to throw things that were close at hand, at Ethan. Ethan was furious at being called names and punched Matt until he was no longer conscious. Matt died from his injuries.

Which of the following statements most accurately reflects the application of partial defences to murder to Ethan?

Ethan is most likely to successfully argue the defence of loss of control, because he did lose self-control because of a qualifying trigger. correct incorrect

Ethan is unlikely to successfully argue the defence of loss of control, because he incited the things said and done by Matt. correct incorrect

Ethan is most likely to successfully argue the defence of diminished responsibility because he believed the things said by Matt caused him an abnormality of mental functioning. correct incorrect

Ethan is most likely to successfully argue the defence of loss of control, because he acted suddenly as a response to the things said and done by Matt. correct incorrect

Ethan would successfully argue the defence of self-defence, as he felt that force was needed to protect himself from Matt's actions. correct incorrect

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. Percy was a regular binge drinker. Every Friday he would drink as much vodka as he could until he passed out. One Friday night he was arguing with his neighbour, Petra and he became incredibly angry. Percy smashed his bottle of vodka and used the sharp remains to attack Petra. He continued the attack long after she had died from her injuries. Percy is charged with murder and the defence are exploring potential partial defences.

Which of the following statements most accurately reflects the application of partial defences to murder to Percy?

Percy suffered from acute intoxication a recognised medical condition and is therefore able to rely on the defence of diminished responsibility. correct incorrect

Percy can rely on the defence of diminished responsibility if his condition did not explain why he did as he did. correct incorrect

Percy can rely on the defence of loss of control if the acute intoxication was the cause of his loss of self-control. correct incorrect

Percy does suffer from a recognised medical condition, but even if he is able to show that it led to an abnormality of mental functioning, he would not be able to rely on the defence of diminished responsibility. correct incorrect

A psychiatrist will determine whether Percy had an abnormality of mental functioning at the time of the killing and if he is deemed to have had such, he can successfully rely on the defence of diminished responsibility. correct incorrect

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. Ursula experienced years of coercive and controlling abuse by her husband, Bill. As a result, it had made her entirely dependent upon him and she was unable to cope with the prospect of the relationship ending. She had been diagnosed with an anxiety condition. Bill enjoyed controlling Ursula, but he wanted to experience other relationships. He regularly had affairs, and when confronted by Ursula about them, Bill told he she was mad and completely wrong. One day Ursula found a message on Bill's phone from another woman, that revealed that Bill was going to end his marriage with Ursula. In a daze, Ursula prepared Bill's meal. When he began to eat it she hit him many times over the head with a hammer. He died from his injuries.

Which of the following statements most accurately reflects the application of partial defences to murder to Ursula?

Ursula would certainly be able to successfully argue the defence of loss of control manslaughter. correct incorrect

Ursula would most likely be able to rely on the partial defence of diminished responsibility. correct incorrect

Ursula would certainly be able to successfully argue both the defence of diminished responsibility and loss of control manslaughter. correct incorrect

Ursula would be certain to be convicted of murder as both the defence of diminished responsibility and loss of control manslaughter would fail. correct incorrect

Ursula would be convicted of murder as no defence applies to cases involving any form of domestic abuse. correct incorrect

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. Dieter was heavily intoxicated when he killed Victor. At the time of the killing D was also suffering from a mental abnormality, a form of depression following the death of his mother to whom he was very close. Applying the ruling in R v Dietschmann [2003] which of the following statements most accurately reflects the application of diminished responsibility in cases where the defendant was intoxicated and suffered an abnormality of mental functioning?

As Dieter was intoxicated the jury cannot find diminished responsibility. correct incorrect

Only where Dieter suffers from acute intoxication, a recognised medical condition, can the jury find diminished responsibility. correct incorrect

As there was some evidence that Dieter suffered from an abnormality of mental functioning at the time of the killing, diminished responsibility can be found even where the abnormality only minimally explained why he killed Victor. correct incorrect

Where Dieter's killing was partly caused by voluntary intoxication, the jury can still find diminished responsibility as long as Dieter's abnormality remained a substantial aspect of the killing. Excluding the intoxication, the abnormality was a substantial cause of the killing. correct incorrect

Where the intoxication is a result of grief, diminished responsibility can automatically be found by a jury. correct incorrect

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. Erica loves her grandmother, Vera, very much. Vera has been very ill and in a great deal of pain for many months and asks Erica to feed her all the painkilling medicine that she has in order to end her life. Erica has a detachment disorder and finds the idea of Vera suffering any more, incredibly difficult to deal with. After repeated requests Erica helps her grandmother to take the painkillers and Vera dies.

Which of the following statements most accurately reflects the application of diminished responsibility to Erica?

Erica's abnormality has prevented her from forming a rational judgement. correct incorrect

Erica's abnormality has prevented her from exercising self-control correct incorrect

Erica's abnormality has prevented her from understanding the nature of her conduct. correct incorrect

Erica's abnormality has not prevented her from forming a rational judgement. correct incorrect

Erica was not suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning at the time of the killing. correct incorrect