Murder/Manslaughter lawyer LAC Lawyers Sydney & Melbourne
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Murder/Manslaughter

If you (or, most likely, someone you care about) have been charged with a serious offence, it is crucial that you choose experienced legal representation. At LAC Lawyers, we not only have experience in this area, but we are committed to ensuring that the person charged with the offence (and their family) know exactly what to expect, and how to best handle all eventualities.

Section 18 of the Crimes Act sets out the elements of murder.  Where an act is the substantial or significant cause of death then that is enough.  It must be established that the accused has any of the following states of mind:

  • the intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm;
  • reckless indifference to human life;
  • felony murder.

With felony murder it has to be established that a person committed an act resulting in the death of the victim in an attempt to commit or during or immediately after commission of a crime which is punishable by 25 years imprisonment.

Where the act of the accused does not satisfy the requisites of murder then the section provides that every other punishable homicide should be taken to be manslaughter. Although the guilty act is the same, the person does not have the requisite intent. With manslaughter there are two principle categories

  • where murder is reduced to manslaughter and
  • where the unlawful killing lacked the requisite intent.

Murder trials are only conducted by the Supreme Court as it is the only court which has jurisdiction to hear the matter.

  1. Overview
  2. Articles
  3. FAQs
  4. Lawyers
  5. Case Studies