In a homicide case involving a stabbing during a physical struggle, where the accused held the knife throughout and claims not to have deliberately stabbed the victim, the defence of unwilled act (s 23A Criminal Code (WA)) rather than accident (s 23B) is the appropriate defence to be left to the jury. The 'act' for s 23A purposes is the insertion of the knife into the body, not the death; the 'event' for s 23B purposes is the death. Defence counsel's disavowal of a defence based on a misunderstanding of the law does not relieve the trial judge of the obligation to leave the defence to the jury.
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