R v Lipman
Encyclopedia
R v Lipman [1970] 1 QB 152 is an English criminal law
case establishing that voluntary intoxication
, however extreme, can not be a defense to manslaughter
. The defendant in voluntarily taking dangerous drugs was found to have taken a dangerous risk which ordinary individuals would foresee, with his lack of intention to carry out dangerous acts not thereafter being relevant to a conviction of manslaughter.
on the evening of September 16th 1967. On the morning of September 18th the defendant booked out of his hotel and left the country, before the victim was found on September 19th with haemorrhaging of the brain, and evidence of asphyxiation. The defendant was returned under extradition
, before giving evidence that he and the victim had experienced hallucinations in the course of taking LSD. By his account, he imagined he had been attacked by snakes, resulting in his assault on the victim. The jury accepted that he had no intention to murder or commit grievous bodily harm, but nevertheless convicted him of manslaughter, on the direction of the Judge that it would suffice for the prosecution to prove:
The defendant appealed, alleging the Judge should have directed the jury to convict only if the prosecution could prove he had the requisite intention to carry out acts which were likely to result in harm.
Accordingly, since the jury had concluded that the defendant's actions had created a dangerous risk that ordinary people would foresee, it was immaterial that the defendant did not have any specific intent to carry out the actions. The appeal was therefore dismissed, and the sentence of six years upheld.
English criminal law
English criminal law refers to the body of law in the jurisdiction of England and Wales which deals with crimes and their consequences. Criminal acts are considered offences against the whole of a community...
case establishing that voluntary intoxication
Intoxication in English law
Intoxication in English law is a circumstance which may alter the capacity of a defendant to form mens rea, where a charge is one of specific intent, or may entirely negate mens rea where the intoxication is involuntary...
, however extreme, can not be a defense to manslaughter
Manslaughter in English law
In the English law of homicide, manslaughter is a less serious offence than murder, the differential being between levels of fault based on the mens rea . In England and Wales, the usual practice is to prefer a charge of murder, with the judge or defence able to introduce manslaughter as an option...
. The defendant in voluntarily taking dangerous drugs was found to have taken a dangerous risk which ordinary individuals would foresee, with his lack of intention to carry out dangerous acts not thereafter being relevant to a conviction of manslaughter.
Facts
The defendant and the victim, who were both alleged to be addicted to drugs, both took a quantity of LSDLSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
on the evening of September 16th 1967. On the morning of September 18th the defendant booked out of his hotel and left the country, before the victim was found on September 19th with haemorrhaging of the brain, and evidence of asphyxiation. The defendant was returned under extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
, before giving evidence that he and the victim had experienced hallucinations in the course of taking LSD. By his account, he imagined he had been attacked by snakes, resulting in his assault on the victim. The jury accepted that he had no intention to murder or commit grievous bodily harm, but nevertheless convicted him of manslaughter, on the direction of the Judge that it would suffice for the prosecution to prove:
"He must have realised before he got himself into the condition he did by taking the drugs that acts such as those he subsequently performed and which resulted in the death were dangerous."
The defendant appealed, alleging the Judge should have directed the jury to convict only if the prosecution could prove he had the requisite intention to carry out acts which were likely to result in harm.
Judgment
It was submitted on behalf of the defendant that the decision of R v Church placed a burden on the prosecution to show that the defendant had in fact intended the consequences of his actions. Widgery LJ held that this was not the case, stating that:All that the judgment in Church's case says in terms is that whereas, formerly, a killing by any unlawful act amounted to manslaughter, this consequence does not now inexorably follow unless the unlawful act is one in which ordinary sober and responsible people would recognise the existence of risk.
Accordingly, since the jury had concluded that the defendant's actions had created a dangerous risk that ordinary people would foresee, it was immaterial that the defendant did not have any specific intent to carry out the actions. The appeal was therefore dismissed, and the sentence of six years upheld.