Complete Criminal Law
OCR A-Level Law
Contents
- Rules and theory (3)
- Elements of Criminal Liability (4)
- Fatal offences against the person
a) Murder (6)
b) Voluntary Manslaughter- Loss of control (7)
c) Voluntary Manslaughter- Diminished
responsibility (8)
d) Unlawful act manslaughter (9)
e) Gross negligence manslaughter (10)
- Non-fatal offences against the person
a) Assault (11)
b) Battery (11)
c) ABH (12)
d) GBH s20, GBH s18 (12)
- Evaluation of non-fatal offences (14)
- Offences against property
a) Theft (16)
b) Robbery (17)
c) Burglary (18)
- Mental Capacity defences
Page 1 of 33
, a) Insanity (20)
b) Automatism (21)
c) Intoxication (22)
d) Evaluation of intoxication (23)
- General Defences
a) Self-defence (25)
b) Evaluation of Self-defence (27)
c) Duress and Necessity (29)
d) Consent (31)
e) Evaluation of consent (32)
- Preliminary Defence: Attempts (33)
Timing: 30mins or less/ question
Page 2 of 33
, Rules and Theory of Criminal Law
Crime- action or omission which constitutes an offence punishable by law
Sources of criminal law- statute and common law
Elements of criminal liability
- Mens rea (the guilty mind)
- Actus reus (the guilty act)
Who is involved in a criminal cases?
- Prosecution (CPS)
- Defence
Burden of proof- D must be proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt
Reverse onus- shifts the burden onto the prosecution when D is presenting a defence
‘balance of probabilities’
Aims and purpose of criminal law
- Maintain the stability of society and criminal justice
- Punishment and penalty for an offence
- Protecting the public
Principles of criminal law
- Innocent until proven guilty
Page 3 of 33
, Elements of Criminal Liability
Actus Reus- physical element of the crime
- Can be shown though evidence, witness, injury etc
Causation- if the AR of a crime includes a consequence, we must prove that D caused
the consequence
- Factual causation —> ‘but for’ test; without abc would the outcome have
happened(White- no causation, mother didn’t die by cyanide)
- Legal causation —> were the Ds actions the operating and substantial cause of
the consequence OR does a novus actus interviniens break the chain of
causation (Jordan- palpably wrong medical treatment broke the chain, Smith-
dropping the solider did not break the chain)
Thin Skull Rule- Chain is not broken if injuries are worsened because of a preconceived
weakness (Blaue)
Omission is not an action so you are not liable
EXCEPTIONS
- Contractual duty to act (Pittwood)
- Duty through official position (Dytham)
- Duty through relationship (Gibbins and Proctor)
- Duty through creation of a dangerous situation (Miller)
Mens Rea- the intention or knowledge of wrongdoing that constitutes part of a crime
- Direct intent- purpose or desire to bring about the action or consequence
(Mohan)
- Indirect intent- virtual certainty, the D is aware that the consequences of an
action is virtually certain to cause the consequence (Wollin)
- Recklessness- D sees the risk in a situation (Cunningham, G- children didn’t see
the risk)
Transferred malice- MR directed at intented victim but was then transferred to the
actual victim (Mitchell- post office dominos, Latimer- bar fight)
- BUT MR cant be transferred to completely different offences (Pembliton- stones
to disperse crowd/break window)
Strict Liability- a crime which has no mens rea (Shah and Shah- lottery tickets to
underage)
Coincidence of AR and MR:
Page 4 of 33
, • Contemporaneity- AR and MR must happen at the same time, if not then no
liability
o Fagan v Metro Police Commissioner (continuing action ensured
contemporaneity)
o Thabo Meli (series of actions ensured contemporaneity)
• Correspondence- MR and AR should be at the same level
Page 5 of 33
OCR A-Level Law
Contents
- Rules and theory (3)
- Elements of Criminal Liability (4)
- Fatal offences against the person
a) Murder (6)
b) Voluntary Manslaughter- Loss of control (7)
c) Voluntary Manslaughter- Diminished
responsibility (8)
d) Unlawful act manslaughter (9)
e) Gross negligence manslaughter (10)
- Non-fatal offences against the person
a) Assault (11)
b) Battery (11)
c) ABH (12)
d) GBH s20, GBH s18 (12)
- Evaluation of non-fatal offences (14)
- Offences against property
a) Theft (16)
b) Robbery (17)
c) Burglary (18)
- Mental Capacity defences
Page 1 of 33
, a) Insanity (20)
b) Automatism (21)
c) Intoxication (22)
d) Evaluation of intoxication (23)
- General Defences
a) Self-defence (25)
b) Evaluation of Self-defence (27)
c) Duress and Necessity (29)
d) Consent (31)
e) Evaluation of consent (32)
- Preliminary Defence: Attempts (33)
Timing: 30mins or less/ question
Page 2 of 33
, Rules and Theory of Criminal Law
Crime- action or omission which constitutes an offence punishable by law
Sources of criminal law- statute and common law
Elements of criminal liability
- Mens rea (the guilty mind)
- Actus reus (the guilty act)
Who is involved in a criminal cases?
- Prosecution (CPS)
- Defence
Burden of proof- D must be proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt
Reverse onus- shifts the burden onto the prosecution when D is presenting a defence
‘balance of probabilities’
Aims and purpose of criminal law
- Maintain the stability of society and criminal justice
- Punishment and penalty for an offence
- Protecting the public
Principles of criminal law
- Innocent until proven guilty
Page 3 of 33
, Elements of Criminal Liability
Actus Reus- physical element of the crime
- Can be shown though evidence, witness, injury etc
Causation- if the AR of a crime includes a consequence, we must prove that D caused
the consequence
- Factual causation —> ‘but for’ test; without abc would the outcome have
happened(White- no causation, mother didn’t die by cyanide)
- Legal causation —> were the Ds actions the operating and substantial cause of
the consequence OR does a novus actus interviniens break the chain of
causation (Jordan- palpably wrong medical treatment broke the chain, Smith-
dropping the solider did not break the chain)
Thin Skull Rule- Chain is not broken if injuries are worsened because of a preconceived
weakness (Blaue)
Omission is not an action so you are not liable
EXCEPTIONS
- Contractual duty to act (Pittwood)
- Duty through official position (Dytham)
- Duty through relationship (Gibbins and Proctor)
- Duty through creation of a dangerous situation (Miller)
Mens Rea- the intention or knowledge of wrongdoing that constitutes part of a crime
- Direct intent- purpose or desire to bring about the action or consequence
(Mohan)
- Indirect intent- virtual certainty, the D is aware that the consequences of an
action is virtually certain to cause the consequence (Wollin)
- Recklessness- D sees the risk in a situation (Cunningham, G- children didn’t see
the risk)
Transferred malice- MR directed at intented victim but was then transferred to the
actual victim (Mitchell- post office dominos, Latimer- bar fight)
- BUT MR cant be transferred to completely different offences (Pembliton- stones
to disperse crowd/break window)
Strict Liability- a crime which has no mens rea (Shah and Shah- lottery tickets to
underage)
Coincidence of AR and MR:
Page 4 of 33
, • Contemporaneity- AR and MR must happen at the same time, if not then no
liability
o Fagan v Metro Police Commissioner (continuing action ensured
contemporaneity)
o Thabo Meli (series of actions ensured contemporaneity)
• Correspondence- MR and AR should be at the same level
Page 5 of 33
