Moot HELP!
Hey,
I have an upcoming moot and am the lead respondant for the following ground of appeal:
'notwithstanding s. 55(6)(c) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, sexual infidelity should be considered by the jury where it forms a relevant part of the history to the case rather than being the cause of the loss of self-control.'
I am therefore against this point, however since the introduction of the 2009 act and the abolishment of provocation I am struggling on finding cases as relevant authorities. Do you have any advice on areas I should focus on or relevant case law that might be applicable?
Many thanks for any input!!
I have an upcoming moot and am the lead respondant for the following ground of appeal:
'notwithstanding s. 55(6)(c) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, sexual infidelity should be considered by the jury where it forms a relevant part of the history to the case rather than being the cause of the loss of self-control.'
I am therefore against this point, however since the introduction of the 2009 act and the abolishment of provocation I am struggling on finding cases as relevant authorities. Do you have any advice on areas I should focus on or relevant case law that might be applicable?
Many thanks for any input!!
Facts of the case are:
David and Laura Nolan were married in 2000 when they were aged 30 and 20 respectively. Laura worked as a cat-walk model and David was her agent. Neither of them wanted to have children at that time, but in 2005, Laura told David she wanted to have a baby and take a couple of years away from work to raise their child. David refused, telling Laura he didn’t want her to lose her looks, and in any event, neither of them could afford to live without her income. He had sexual intercourse with Laura after that time only if he wore a condom.
In September 2010, Laura was asked to model a new range of clothes for an international fashion house but she had to lose eight kilograms of weight to fit into the tiny clothes. Laura stopped eating all food except for broccoli for a month. This dietary regime caused her insomnia, a feeling of weakness and uncharacteristic outbursts of anger.
On the 11th October 2010, as Laura was about to start the fashion show, she received a text message telling her that David had been having a number of extra-marital affairs for the past few years and that in 2006, he had fathered a daughter by another woman. She immediately confronted David with this. He replied that the other woman could afford to have kids because her body “wasn’t anything good to look at in the first place.” In a rage, Laura stabbed David to death with a pair of scissors.
Laura was charged with David’s murder. At the trial, the judge refused to allow the jury to hear evidence of David’s extra-marital affairs because such evidence was inadmissible by s. 55 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. The judge also refused a defence application to adduce expert evidence about Laura’s dietary regime and the possible hormonal imbalances caused by it, because such evidence would be outside any “normal degree of tolerance and self-restraint” that a person of her age and sex in her circumstances might have.
The jury returned a verdict of guilty on the charge of murder. Laura now appeals to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that:
My role is the lead respondant for the following ground of appeal:
1. notwithstanding s. 55(6)(c) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, sexual infidelity should be considered by the jury where it forms a relevant part of the history to the case rather than being the cause of the loss of self-control,
Many thanks!!
David and Laura Nolan were married in 2000 when they were aged 30 and 20 respectively. Laura worked as a cat-walk model and David was her agent. Neither of them wanted to have children at that time, but in 2005, Laura told David she wanted to have a baby and take a couple of years away from work to raise their child. David refused, telling Laura he didn’t want her to lose her looks, and in any event, neither of them could afford to live without her income. He had sexual intercourse with Laura after that time only if he wore a condom.
In September 2010, Laura was asked to model a new range of clothes for an international fashion house but she had to lose eight kilograms of weight to fit into the tiny clothes. Laura stopped eating all food except for broccoli for a month. This dietary regime caused her insomnia, a feeling of weakness and uncharacteristic outbursts of anger.
On the 11th October 2010, as Laura was about to start the fashion show, she received a text message telling her that David had been having a number of extra-marital affairs for the past few years and that in 2006, he had fathered a daughter by another woman. She immediately confronted David with this. He replied that the other woman could afford to have kids because her body “wasn’t anything good to look at in the first place.” In a rage, Laura stabbed David to death with a pair of scissors.
Laura was charged with David’s murder. At the trial, the judge refused to allow the jury to hear evidence of David’s extra-marital affairs because such evidence was inadmissible by s. 55 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. The judge also refused a defence application to adduce expert evidence about Laura’s dietary regime and the possible hormonal imbalances caused by it, because such evidence would be outside any “normal degree of tolerance and self-restraint” that a person of her age and sex in her circumstances might have.
The jury returned a verdict of guilty on the charge of murder. Laura now appeals to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that:
My role is the lead respondant for the following ground of appeal:
1. notwithstanding s. 55(6)(c) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, sexual infidelity should be considered by the jury where it forms a relevant part of the history to the case rather than being the cause of the loss of self-control,
Many thanks!!
Answered this in another thread, but didn't have the case.
Ok - LoC
Did she cause it? Yes
Qualifying trigger - yes.
Would another woman of her age with a normal degree of tolerance and self-restraint have acted in the same way?
Well, firstly the purpose of the legislation (s.55(6)(c) was supposed to be that sexual infidelity was specifically not supposed to excuse or partially excuse murder.the
The judgement in Davies (1975) does say (albeit obiter) that it is "too generous" to take into account the whole of the deceased conduct throughout the year" implying that the history to the case is not to be considered.
Secondly, the appeal is stretching the supposedly objective criteria of adjudging the "other person of similar characteristic". How many other 31 year old fashion models are there that have stabbed their husband to death with a pair of scissors after eating only broccoli for a month? The judgement in Camplin is quite clearly against the idea of the reasonable man that happens to be identical to the defendant.
Ok - LoC
Did she cause it? Yes
Qualifying trigger - yes.
Would another woman of her age with a normal degree of tolerance and self-restraint have acted in the same way?
Well, firstly the purpose of the legislation (s.55(6)(c) was supposed to be that sexual infidelity was specifically not supposed to excuse or partially excuse murder.the
The judgement in Davies (1975) does say (albeit obiter) that it is "too generous" to take into account the whole of the deceased conduct throughout the year" implying that the history to the case is not to be considered.
Secondly, the appeal is stretching the supposedly objective criteria of adjudging the "other person of similar characteristic". How many other 31 year old fashion models are there that have stabbed their husband to death with a pair of scissors after eating only broccoli for a month? The judgement in Camplin is quite clearly against the idea of the reasonable man that happens to be identical to the defendant.
Original post by bkh
Thanks for getting back to me, very much appreciated!!
Would you recommend one submission or two for this case scenario?
Would you recommend one submission or two for this case scenario?
Honestly?
I don't know.
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