Q: How do we prove murder? Learning Objectives 1. Recall the law relating to Voluntary Manslaughter- Diminished Responsibility Q: What is voluntary manslaughter?

Voluntary Manslaughter is a partial defence to murder reducing charge from murder to manslaughter. This gives the judge discretion regarding sentencing. Diminished responsibility Loss of Control Remember: You would only look at voluntary manslaughter when you have proven the elements for murder, but consider there to be a defence of one of the above.

Coroners and Justice Act 2009 Diminished Responsibility Defendant has to prove on the balance of probabilities, however for other defences eg. Loss of control Defendant just needs to raise the defence and the prosecution need to disprove.

Diminished responsibility Abnormality of Mental Functioning Medical Condition Substantially impaired ability Can D exercise self control? Did D understand nature of conduct? Can D form a rational judgement? Is there a causal connection between abnormality and killing? CJA’2009 s1(b)

Intoxication Cannot be itself support DR as it is not a recognised medical condition (Di Duca (1959), unless…. D Has a medical impairment and is drunk Drinking has caused a medical impairment Defendant has to prove DR on balance of responsibilities.

Voluntary Manslaughter Can I explain, illustrate and apply the law relating to diminished responsibility and loss of control?

Loss of Control -Defendant must have lost control but unlike previous law (Ahluwalia 1992) it does not have to be sudden. Loss of self control must have been caused by a qualifying trigger.

Qualifying Trigger Fear of serious Violence Things said or done of ‘grave character’ Justifiable sense of wrongdoing. Key points Would a person of normal self restraint react in a similar way? (Van Dongen (2005) Use your printouts to complete your summary of the partial defence of Loss of Control

Look at the daily mail article and write down any key differences between the defence of provocation and loss of control

Look at the case of Clinton (2012) and the court’s ‘application’ of CJA’2009

Exam Question Despite some recent reforms, there are still criticisms to be made of the current law on murder and voluntary manslaughter. Consider relevant criticisms of that law, and suggest any reforms that may be appropriate. (25 marks)

Plenary

Loss of Control Other Circumstances Same sex & Age Qualifying triggerLoss of self-control