SQE1 sample questions

Question 96

A woman has worked for her employer for 18 months. Throughout that time the employer has unfairly criticised her work and verbally abused her in front of others. The verbal abuse has become more frequent and the employer now regularly makes racist comments about the woman and threatens to make her redundant.

The woman is distressed by the employer’s severe mistreatment of her and justifiably feels seriously wronged as a result.

One morning, the employer shouts and swears at the woman. She is distraught but returns to her desk to work. She cannot concentrate and, when the employer approaches her half an hour later, the woman loses her self-control and stabs him once to the neck with a pair of scissors she is holding. The employer dies from the injuries he sustains.

The woman did not fear any violence from the employer when she stabbed him and she understood the nature of her actions.

The woman is charged with the employer’s murder and her solicitor considers whether the partial defence of loss of control is available to her. The solicitor believes that a jury could find that a reasonable woman might have reacted in the same or a similar way as the woman did in the circumstances.

Given the solicitor’s belief, which of the following will determine whether the partial defence of loss of control is available to the woman?

A. That the woman’s stabbing of the employer was not an immediate response to the verbal abuse directed towards her.

B. That the employer’s mistreatment of the woman justifiably caused her to feel seriously wronged.

C. That the employer had not used any physical violence towards the woman at any time.

D. That the woman understood the nature of her actions when she stabbed the employer.

E. That the woman stabbed the employer only once.