non-fatal offences

Question 1

assault acts reus

Answer 1

. must be an act, not omission
. apprehend
immediate application
. of unlawful force

Question 2

assault definition

Answer 2

. an act where the D causes the V to apprehend the immediate application of unlawful force- Collins v Wilcock
. maximum=6 month imprisonment
. summary offence
. s.39 Criminal Justice Act 1988
. common law offence

Question 3

assault- an act

Answer 3

. positive act (not omission)
. interpreted widely- R v Ireland (silent calls)

Question 4

assault- apprehend

Answer 4

. doesn’t mean fear
. means you think unlawful force may be applied, even if it cannot be applied- Logden v DPP
. if V does not/ cannot apprehend harm> no assault- R v Lamb
. words can negate assault if they clearly negate the threat- Tuberville v Savage (courts, sword)
: the more severe the threat, the less likely the words will negate the assault- R v Light (police, sword)

Question 5

assault- immediate application

Answer 5

. at some time ‘not excluding the immediate future’- R v Constanza
. immediacy is judged from the perspective of the victim- R v Ireland

Question 6

assault- unlawful force

Answer 6

. a threat of force is not unlawful if there’s lawful justification- Collins v Wilcock (self defence)

Question 7

assault- mens rea

Answer 7

. intentionally
-direct intent- done everything in power- Mohan
-indirect intent- virtually certain, D appreciates it- Woollin
. recklessness- appreciates risk- R v Cunningham

Question 8

common assault

Answer 8

. joint legal term for assault and battery when offended together

Question 9

assault strengths

Answer 9

. common law flexibility- enabled the law to keep up with new technology- R v Ireland
. public protection- the law has been updated to protect people as new problems have arisen such as stalking- R v Ireland, Constanza- this has now been superseded by the Protection from Harassment Act 1998

Question 10

assault weaknesses

Answer 10

. common law uncertainty- the distinction between Tuberville v Savage and R v Light
. it’s for parliament to adapt the law, not judges- democratic legitimacy
. fair labelling- the term assault is commonly used by the media to mean a physical altercation

Question 11

battery definition

Answer 11

. ‘a battery is an unlawful application of force either intentionally or recklessly’- Lord Goff- Collins v Wilcock
. Lord Goff’s examples of implied lawful force as:
-jostling in crowded places
-handshakes
-back slapping
-tapping to gain people’s attention
-(and same defences as assault apply)

Question 12

direct battery

Answer 12

. D touches V- mere touching is enough- R v Thomas

Question 13

indirect battery

Answer 13

. causing the physical application of force without direct touching
. punching a person holding a baby- causing them to drop the baby is indirect battery- R v Haystead
. putting acid in a hand dryer is indirect battery- DPP v K
. this can be done by omission- DPP v Santa-Bermyderz

Question 14

CPS- will not charge every touching as battery> guidelines advise that a battery should cause:

Answer 14

. grazing, scratches, abrasions, minor bruising, swellings, reddening of the skin, black eye

Question 15

battery- mens rea

Answer 15

. direct intention- does everything in power- R v Mohan
. indirect intention- virtually certain + D appreciates it- Woollin
. recklessness- D appreciates unjustifiable risk- Cunningham

Question 16

battery strengths

Answer 16

. protects people’s personal bodily integrity- protects people from harm
. Lord Goff’s criteria reflects social realities of modern life

Question 17

battery weaknesses

Answer 17

. too wide as an offence
. arguably not fairly labelled- it sounds worse than it is
. CPS arguably have too much power to set guidelines> undemocratic
. bizarre that assault + battery have the same maximum penalties despite the fact the D must apply force in battery + very different offences

Question 18

ABH legislation

Answer 18

. Offences Against the Person Act 1861
-s.47- Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm
. triable either way
. maximum sentence- 5 years

Question 19

ABH-s.47- assault

Answer 19

. can be an assault- R v Roberts
. can also be a battery- DPP v Smith

Question 20

ABH-s.47-occassioning

Answer 20

. the assault or battery must be the cause of ABH (R v Chan-Fook)
. factual causation must be established -but for test- R v White
. legal causation must be established- R v Smith; R v Cheshire
-breaks chain of causation where D’s actions are daft + unexpected
. the injury should satisfy the deminimus rule- R v Kimsey

Question 21

ABH-s.47-ABH

Answer 21

. “any harm or injury calculated to interfere with the health and comfort of V”- R v Miller
. it cannot be “so trivial as to be wholly insignificant”- R v Chan-Fook
. Chan-Fook- c/a distinguished between feelings of fear + panic, and medical conditions
. examples:
-recognised psychiatric conditions- R v Ireland
-loss of conscience- T v DPP
-cutting hair- DPP v Smith

Question 22

CPS guidelines for what amounts to ABH

Answer 22

. loss or breaking of teeth
. loss of consciousness
. extensive or multiple bruising
. displaced broken bones
. minor fractures
. minor cuts- which might need stitching
. psychiatric injury

Question 23

ABH mens rea

Answer 23

. MR for assault or battery will transfer over to satisfy the MR for ABH- R v Roberts; R v Paramenter
. D need not foresee any harm to be convicted of ABH- provided they had the MR for assault or battery- R v Parmenter> don’t need to appreciate or foresee ABH

Question 24

ABH strengths

Answer 24

. the way ABH works protects the public + acts as a deterrent
. the way ABH works protects the interest of the victim
. ABH has been adapted by judges to fit for the modern world
. the CPS are able to choose the differences between offence + battery

Question 25

ABH weaknesses

Answer 25

. the way ABH works does not respect the correspondence principle in criminal law- the MR should match the AR . the way ABH works is unfair on the defendant as they may not have been aware of any harm . judges are unelected + have overstepped their role in interpreting the law into creating law- eg.psychiatric injury . the CPS should not be making decisions on what is or is not an offence- the law should be clear enough that any person can live their life according to the law

Question 26

GBH- Section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861

Answer 26

. triable either way . maximum sentence 5 years . must be unlawful must inflict . must be GBH or wound

Question 27

GBH s20- unlawful

Answer 27

. the harm must be unlawful -ie. not capable of being consented to - R v Brown

Question 28

GBH s20- inflict

Answer 28

. inflict means to cause- no difference in meaning . R v Barstow

Question 29

GBH s20- GBH

Answer 29

. means "really serious harm"- DPP v Smith . personal characteristics of the V are considered- R v Bollom> injury to babies + elderly are more severe . psychiatric injuries can be GBH- Burstow . STIs/ biological harm can be GBH- R v Dica

Question 30

GBH s20- wound

Answer 30

. means to break both layers of the skin- Moriarity v Brooks . without a break in both layers of skin, there is no wound- R v Eisenhower

Question 31

GBH s20- MR

Answer 31

. D must intend to do some harm, but not serious harm . or be reckless as to whether some harm is done . must be able to appreciate the risk of some harm- Savage

Question 32

GBH s20- CPS charging standards

Answer 32

. injury resulting in permanent disability . compound fractures . injury resulting in disfigurement, displaced limbs or bones . injuries causing a substantial loss of blood . injuries resulting in lengthy treatment or incapacity . psychiatric injury

Question 33

GBH s18

Answer 33

. s18 causing GBH or wounding with intent to cause GBH . indictable offence . maximum sentence= life imprisonment . AR is same as s20 but s18 is a specific intent crime

Question 34

GBH s18- MR

Answer 34

. s18 can only be satisfied by intent (specific intent crime) . D must intend to do GBH- cannot be an intent to wound- R v Taylor . or D must intend to resist arrest- recklessness can apply

Question 35

GBH strengths

Answer 35

. fair s18 has life sentence as it needs specific intent- cannot be reckless . judges have modernised law to include biological (R V Dica) + psychiatric harm (R v Burstow) . s18 protects police officers/ lawful society as it can be satisfies where D resists lawful arrest + any harm can be reckless

Question 36

GBH weaknesses

Answer 36

. s47 + s20 have same maximum sentence . written in old English . s20 + s18 are poorly worded- inflict/cause . a paper cut is a wound- illogical + bizarre distinctions- R v Eisenhower . CPS are incorrectly charging- charging standards for ABH includes cuts