Homicide II: Involuntary Manslaughter

Criminal Law Chapter 5

What is the AR and MR of unlawful act MS?

AR = D must i) do an unlawful act ii) which is dangerous iii) and causes the victim’s death

MR = matches MR of the particular unlawful act = intention or reckless

*crime of negligence DO NOT count

**MUST BE POSITIVE ACTION

**P does NOT need to establish that the D either intended or was reckless as to causing the death

What is the test for a dangerous act?

OBJECTIVE TEST - do not have to realise the act was dangerous

Must be dangerous from the POV of a ‘reasonable person’ (deemed to have the knowledge the defendant had, or should have had, at the time of the offence) - e.g. will not be liable if victim had health condition and they did not know

Whether an act is categorised as objectively dangerous will depend upon the particular facts - may be apparent in advance or gleaned during the crime.

Will the voluntary injection of drugs break the chain of causation?

YES - will NOT be guilty of unlawful act manslaughter

What is the MR of unlawful act manslaughter?

The MR will change depending upon the circumstances - as linked to unlawful act

BUT will usually be the mens rea of an assault

no single definition of mens rea for this type of manslaughter – it simply needs to match the unlawful act

What is the difference between unlawful act and gross negligence manslaughter?

GNM - only requires negligence - may be committed by an act or by omission

What are the conditions of GNM?

i) the defendant owed the victim a duty of care - e.g. accepted duty situations/contractual duty

ii) the defendant breached that duty - can be an omission -

iii) breach caused death of the victim

iv) the defendant’s conduct was grossly negligent - must be sufficiently bad as to justify the law imposing a criminal penalty

**The D must fall so far below the standards of the reasonable person that they can be labelled grossly negligent and deserving of criminal punishment.

**no need to establish intention or recklessness – the defendant is punished for their negligence.