• The Open University

• LAW W111

W111 TMA 02 email proforma To: [email protected] CC: Subject: File reference number LCRJ4362 Hi Laura, I’ve been working on Mr Smith’s file for some time now. Below I’ve set out my answers to the questions you had asked in your recent email. 1. Unlawful manslaughter is pieced together and therefore, is also known as constructive manslaughter. This is where the defendant does not intend to kill the victim however, they do by committing an "unlawful and dangerous act which leads to the death". The key elements are discovering the events which led to the death of the victim. In the eyes of the law, it is hard to "define liability in a just and fair manner" due to the defendant committing a serious crime however, there was no intentional harm it led to an unintended consequence. The prosecution will take into account actus reus and men's rea to satisfy that this was an unlawful act. 2. The courts look at tests that are known as objective tests. This must be satisfied to be passed as dangerous. This test is solely to understand what any "reasonable person thinks, knows or understands". The objective test uses the viewpoint of a reasonable human being. "The subjective tests look at whether the defendant understood, thought or knew". The jury decides to come to the conclusion, not the defendants and they use the objective test of what a "sober & reasonable person would recognize as dangerous". Dangerousness is deter