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Gross Negligence Manslaughter/ Involuntary manslaughter (intro to GNM…
Gross Negligence Manslaughter/ Involuntary manslaughter
intro to GNM
gross negligence is committed when the
def. owes the victim a duty of care
but
breach
in that duty
causes death
. (
Adomako
)
can be an
act
or an
omission
the
negligence must
be 'gross' which means
a risk of death
, although the d
ef. didn't have to foresee this
it is up to the jury to decide whether , having regard to the risk of death, D's conduct was so bad to be an act or an omission
where the Def.
commits a lawful act
resulting
in the
death
of the victim
step 1. duty of care
the def.
must owe a duty of care to the victim
to be liable for gross negligence manslaughter (
Adamako
,
Litchfield
)
the duty can be recognised in
both civil and criminal law
(
Singh
)
the def. can owe a duty of care to the victim by
creating a dangerous state of affairs
(
Evans
)
step 2. breach of duty of care
def.
must breach their duty
of care to the victim (
Edwards
)
Bolom test
: if the def. has a
special skill or expertise
they are
judged
according
to
the standard of the reasonable competent professional or skilled
person doing the same job
step 3. obvious risk of death
for the negligence to be 'gross', there must have been a risk of death
from the def.'s conduct
, although there is
no need for the def. to have foreseen
this risk - objective test (has right and wrong answers) (
Bateman
)
a very
high
degree of
negligence is required
to be proved (
Bateman
)
step 4. factual and legal causation
step 5. The defendant's conduct was so bad in all the circumstances as to amount in the jury's opinion to a crime
it is up to the jury to decide whether, having regard to the risk of death,
D's conduct was so bad to be a criminal act or Omission
(
Adamako, Findlay
)