Under the Criminal Code (WA), manslaughter is defined by s 280 as a residual category encompassing all unlawful killings not constituting wilful murder or murder, and is not limited to the common law categories of involuntary manslaughter (unlawful and dangerous act or criminal negligence). The maximum minimum term of 14 years under s 90 of the Sentencing Act 1995 (WA) is not reserved for the worst conceivable case of murder; categorisation of the offence's seriousness is a relevant but not necessarily determining factor. A dissenting view (McLure JA) holds that where the cause and mechanism of death are unknown, a trial judge must direct the jury that death caused by a violent act is capable of supporting an inference of manslaughter, not only of murder or wilful murder.
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