La1010 Criminal Law|Criminal Liability Assessment Answer

UL19/0349Page 2of 5PART ONECandidates must answer theseCOMPULSORYquestions.1.Read the following paragraphand answer the questions that follow.Soraya, aged 20, lives with her boyfriend Bashir, aged 45. Bashir regularlyforcesSorayato have sex with his friends and is often violent to her, particularly when drunk. Sorayahas tried to commit suicide several times and her doctor has prescribed anti-depressants. One night Bashir comes home drunk, hits Soraya, and tells her his friends are coming round and that she will be expected to sleep with them. Sorayatakes an overdoseof anti-depressants but is violently sick immediatelyafterwards. Bashir laughs atSoraya, telling her she is so patheticshe cannot even commit suicide properly. He tells her to be ready to meet his friends in two hours. He goes upstairs. Sorayathinks for a while and then makes her decision. She grabs a heavy lamp, goes upstairs and,finding Bashir in the bathroomwashing his hair, smashes the lamp over Bashir’s headwith all her force. Almost unconscious, Bashirstumbles out of the bathroom and aims a blow at Soraya who is, by now, at the top of the stairs. He misses, loses his footing, and falls down the stairs.He dies immediately.(a)If you were a prosecutor what would be your preferred charge of homicide, murder or manslaughter, in relation to Soraya?(b)Give reasons for your choice in (a)above.(c)If you were Soraya’s defence counsel,what is the most compelling argument you could advance in favour of the proposition that the chain of causation,linking Bashir’s death to Soraya’s attack with the lamp,was broken?(d)If you were prosecuting counsel,how would you respond to that argument?(e)Supposing your argument in (c)above weresuccessful,what offence(s), if any, would Soraya have committed?(f)Give reasons for your answer in (e)above.(g)Assuming the court findsthat the chain of causation was not brokenwhich defences are availableto a charge of murder?(h)Which of those defence(s)considered in (g)above carriesthe greatest chance of success?(i)Give reasons for your answer in (h)above.(j)Taking everything into account, what is your final conclusion on the question of Soraya’s liability?UL19/0349Page 3of 5PART TWOCandidates must answer THREEquestions in this section.2.“All affirmative defences reduce to onekeyfundamental. It is a defence to criminal liability if the defendant acts reasonably in the face of immediate crisis.” Explain and evaluate this statement with particular reference to TWO of the following THREE criminal defences: (a)self-defence; (b) duress; (c) necessity.3.In English law what is meant by:(a)intention; and(b)recklessness?What do these two fault elements have in common, what differentiates them, and why has there been uncertainty surrounding their definition?4.Compare and contrast insanity, loss of control, and diminished responsibility.