SQE1 sample questions

Question 17

A man attacks a victim at a nightclub, violently banging the victim's head backwards against a wall and intending to cause the victim really serious bodily harm. The victim is badly injured and goes to the doorman who works at the nightclub to ask for help. The doorman thinks the victim is drunk and throws her out of the building.

Soon afterwards the victim is found lying on the pavement and is taken to hospital. Her condition is very serious due to massive brain damage, sustained as a result of the man’s actions together with some deterioration in her condition while she is lying on the pavement. She is placed on a life support machine which is switched off when it becomes clear she has suffered brain stem death.

The man is charged with murder.

Which statement best explains the man’s potential liability for murder?

A. He cannot be found guilty of murder because the doorman’s actions contributed to the victim’s death.

B. He cannot be found guilty of murder because death was not an inevitable consequence of his actions.

C. He cannot be found guilty of murder because the victim only died as a result of the life support machine being switched off.

D. He can be found guilty of murder because he is an accomplice to the doorman’s actions which resulted in the victim’s death.

E. He can be found guilty of murder because his conduct was a substantial and operative cause of the victim’s death.