Mancini v DPP
1942 · AC 1
Posted By lanbuk.com
- Facts
- Mancini stabbed Riccardo Distleman with a dagger during a fight in a Soho club, and was of murder. His defence at the trial was self-defence. On appeal it was said that the judge should also have left to the jury.
- Issue
- Must the judge leave provocation where the accused has not relied on it, and who proves it?
- Held
- The House of Lords dismissed the appeal. Viscount Simon LC said that if there is evidence of provocation fit for a jury, the judge must leave it even though the defence did not run it. On these facts there was no such evidence. The stab was out of all proportion to anything that had been done.
- Principle
- Provocation raises an only. Enough evidence to put it before the jury is required. Once it is left, the prosecution must disprove it .
- Why it matters
- It is the first case on the list of common-law defences that do not reverse the .
Words and Latin in this note
- Beyond reasonable doubt
- The high standard of proof in criminal cases: the prosecution must prove guilt so that the tribunal is sure. It is short of certainty, and it is not a mere shadow of a doubt. Open the note.
- Evidential burden
- The duty to point to enough evidence to put an issue before the court. On provocation, self-defence, duress, alibi and similar defences, the accused bears only this burden. The prosecution must then disprove the defence beyond reasonable doubt. Open the note.
- Legal burden
- The obligation to prove a fact to the required standard, or lose on that issue. In crime it is on the prosecution, beyond reasonable doubt, except for insanity and a statutory exception, which the accused proves on the balance of probabilities. Open the note.
- Provocation
- A partial defence to murder in Sierra Leone. The accused lost self-control because of provocative conduct, and a reasonable person with the accused's characteristics might have done as he did. It reduces murder to manslaughter. It is not a defence to any other crime. Open the note.
For study only. By lanbuk.com. Always check current sources and consult a qualified professional.