R v Moloney
1985 · AC 905
Posted By lanbuk.com
- Facts
- Moloney and his stepfather had been drinking. They competed to see who was quicker on the draw with a shotgun. Moloney said he did not aim. He pulled the trigger and his stepfather was dead. The judge directed that foresight of a probable consequence was intention. He was of murder.
- Issue
- Is foresight that death is probable the same as an intention to kill?
- Held
- The House of Lords allowed the appeal. Lord Bridge said foresight of a consequence as probable, highly probable or likely is not the equivalent of intention.
- Principle
- Intention is aim, or foresight of a . Foresight of a likely result is not enough for murder.
- Why it matters
- It discarded the wider Hyam approach. Hancock, Nedrick and Woollin follow it.
Words and Latin in this note
- Oblique intention
- A result the accused does not want, but foresees as a virtual certainty, and goes on to cause. Foresight of a merely probable result is not intention. Open the note.
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