Non-Fatal offences Flashcards
What are the five not-fatal offences?
common law: assault, battery,
statutory: ABH, GBH and GBH with intention.
What are similarities between assault and battery
Both established in s.39 Criminal Justice Act 1988
Both common law offences
Best summary offences with 6 months MAX imprisonment or a fine
R v Venna (1976).establishes mens rea for both
What is the actus reus of assault?
Any act which causes the victim to apprehend the immediate infliction ofviolence e.g., raising a fist, pointing a gun or threatening somebody
Collins v Wilcock (1984)
Give 3 special situations which have qualified for the actus reus of assault with case examples
Words can amount to an assault, as can silent telephone calls - R v Ireland
Words can also take away liability for assault as in the case of Tuberville v Savage (1669).
The threat has to be ‘immediate’ though this has been interpreted generously by the courts e.g., R vs Ireland
What is the mens rea of assault
the defendant must have either intended to cause the victim to fear the infliction of immediate and unlawful force, or
must have seen the risk that such fear would be created (subjective recklessness).
This was defined in R v. Venna [1976]
What is the actus reus of Battery?
The application of unlawful physical force on another. It is accepted that a certain amount of physical force happens in daily life
(Collins v Wilcock (1984)), so for it to be a battery, the force must be unlawful.
Can battery be an omission?
In rare instances yes!
DPP v Santana-Bermudez (2004).- Said his pockets were empty, officer then pricked by needle
What is the mens rea of Battery
The mens rea of battery is intention or subjective recklessness to apply unlawful force on another as confirmed in of R v Venna (1976).
What act establishes ABH?
S.47 Offences Against the Person Act 1861
- Can be assault or battery that ‘occasions’ the ABH.
- Triable either way offence.
- Maximum sentence for ABH is five years’ imprisonment.
What are the three elements of the actus reus of ABH?
1) Assault or battery
The first element of ABH requires proof of the actus reus of either an assault or battery as defined above.
- Occasioning
The assault or battery must occasion i.e., cause actual bodily harm. The chain of causation therefore needs to be established between the defendants act and the harm caused.
No ‘novus actus interveniens’ e.g., R v Roberts (1971). - Actual bodily harm
Can be physical or psychological harm e.g., R vs Miller (1954). It can include cutting someone’s hair e.g., DPP v Smith (2006).
ABH can be causing ‘hurt or injury calculated to interfere with health or comfort’ e.g., Miller (1954). Also,
‘Actual’ means though the injury does not need to be permanent, it should not be so trivial as to be insignificant.
what is the mens rea of ABH
The mens rea of battery is the same as for assault or battery. There is no requirement to prove any extra mens rea for the actual bodily harm as per the case of R vs Roberts / R v Savage
What act establishes GBH?
Statutory offence set out in s.20 Offences Against the Person Act 1861 - it is an offence to maliciously inflict grievous bodily harm or wound the victim.
- Triable either way offence.
- Maximum sentence for GBH is five years’ imprisonment. (Criticised for being the same as for lesser offence of ABH).
What is the actus reus of GBH (idk)
GBH can be proved by either showing an infliction of grievous bodily harm or a wounding of the victim.
Infliction of GBH
General principle is that GBH is ‘really serious harm’ (DPP v Smith (1961)).
In R vs Dica (2004) the meaning was widened to include recklessly transmitting HIV toan unaware victim as being ‘infliction’ of GBH.
Wounding
A wound requires a breaking in the continuity of the skin usually resulting in bleeding.However, in the case of JCC (A Minor) v Eisenhower (1984) an internal rupture of blood vessels in the victim’s eye was held not to amount to wounding within s.20.
What is the mens rea of GBH (idk)
The mens rea for GBH is defined by the word maliciously (with intention or subjective recklessness).
Doesn’t matter whether or not the defendant intended or was reckless as to the infliction of GBH or a wound as long as it can be proven that the defendant intended or foresaw that some harm might occur (not would) e.g., DPP v A (2000).
What act establishes GBH with intent?
S.18 GBH with intent
- Statutory offence of grievous bodily harm with intent is set out in s.18 Offences Against the Person Act 1861 - it is an offence to intend to maliciously wound or cause grievous bodily harm or to resist or prevent the lawful apprehension or detention of any person.
- S.18 is an indictable offence.
- Maximum sentence for s.18 is life imprisonment reflecting the gravity of s.18 in comparison to s.20.
- S.18 is a crime of specific intent, meaning that it can ONLY be proved with intention as the mens rea. S.47 and s.20 are both basic intention as they can be proved with either intention OR recklessness.
