Criminal law
Strict liability, omissions, contemporaneity
Evaluation- consent and self-defence
Non-fatal:
o Assault
Common law offence charged under Criminal justice 1988 act s39
-ar- causing apprehension of immediate personal violence
-mr- intent or recklessness as to causing apprehension of immediate personal
violence
Apprehend means The victim need not be in fear, but must be aware that they’re
about to be subjected to violence
This can include words (R v Constanza), actions (Read v Coker), written or even
silence (R v Ireland). It can also be negated (Tuberville v savage)
The threat of Immediate personal violence must be imminent but not instantaneous
(smith v chief superintendent of Woking police station)
Ireland-
D made series of silent phone calls to three different women over three months
Silence can be assault
Logdon-
D pointed imitation firearm at woman, she was scared
Verbal assault
Constanza-
D launched hate campaign against work colleague through 8,000 threatening letters
Assault can be written
Smith v chief constable of Woking-
D peered through woman’s window at night
Not assault as it didn’t constitute immediate or imminent personal violence
Tuberville v savage-
Put hand on sword and said ‘if it weren’t assize time, I wouldn’t take such language
from you’
Assault negated by words
o Battery
Common law offence defined under the criminal justice act 1988 s39
-ar- applying unlawful force
-mr- intent or recklessness as to applying unlawful force
Unlawful force doesn’t only include violence it can mean any unwanted touching (R v
Thomas).
This can be indirect (DPP v K)
, Force can be applied through a continuing act (Fagan v mpc)
Consent makes the force lawful (Collins v Willcock)
Ar/mr case venna
8
Thomas-
Caretaker rubbed girls skirts
Touching clothes amounts to battery
Dpp v k
Boy put acid in hand dryer with end pointed up, v used hand dryer and went over
him
Application of force needn’t be directly applied
Collins v Willcock
Police officer grabbed arm of woman to stop her waliking off, woman scratched
police officers arm and charged with assault officer
Police officers’ actions amounted to a battery- no consent given for grabbing arm
o ABH
Offences against the person act 1861 s 47
-ar- assault or battery that causes actual bodily harm
-mr- intent or recklessness as to the assault or battery (R v Roberts)
Abh can be-
Meaning of Actual bodily harm was considered in R v Miller to include any hurt or
injury calculated to interfere with the health or comfort of the victim
Psychiatric harm (R v Chan Fook)
Cutting off a person’s hair (DPP v Smith)
Short loss of consciousness (T v DPP)
Mr case savage
Savage
D threw pint of beer over v, glass slipped out her hand and smashed and cut v
Not necessary to demonstrate d had mr in relation to the level of harm inflicted.
Sufficient that they intended or could foresee some harm will result
Chanfook
lodger accused of stealing engagement ring, they struck him and locked him upstairs
and then he tried to escape but suffered fractured wrist and dislocated hip. He
suffered fear and panic
not abh as feelings of fear and panic are emotions rather than ijury- without medical
evidence to support psychiatric condition a conviction of abh shouldn’t stand
Dpp v smith
Cut off ponytail of victim
Bodily harm can include any damage to v including dead tissue (hair)
, Dpp v k
Boy put acid in hand dryer with end pointed up, v used hand dryer and went over
him, got permeant scars
Bodily harm can be caused indirectly
T v dpp
D chased and kicked v, v lost consciousness
Abh can include loss of consciousness
Miller
D has sex with wife against her will and she suffered nervous shock
Nervus shock amounted to abh
o GBH S20
Offences against the person act 1861 s20
-ar-inflicting a wound or serious harm
-mr- intent or recklessness as to causing some harm
A wound is breaking two layers of skin (Eisenhower)
The case of DPP v Smith shows how grievous means serious
The cases of Ireland and burstow show inflict means cause
This can include
-a broken nose (saunders)
-HIV (Dica)
-Genital herpes (Golding)
-psychiatric harm (Burstow)
-combined injuries (Brown and stratton)
-mr cases savage, Parmenter
Burstow
D stalked v, v suffered severe depressive illness as a result
Psychiatric injury can be gbh
Jcc v Eisenhower
D shot multiple rounds from air gun at people, one pellet hit v, ruptured blood vessel
near eye
Not gbh- Wounding required a break in the ‘continuity of the skin’ that is the whole
skin, not merely a scrath to the outer layer
Dpp v smith
D was ordered by police to stop his car, police jumped onto car, fell off, killed by
oncoming car
Not murder as he didn’t have mr, but defines gbh as really serious harm
R v dica
D was HIV positive, had sex with two women and didn’t tell them
Liable for gbh
Strict liability, omissions, contemporaneity
Evaluation- consent and self-defence
Non-fatal:
o Assault
Common law offence charged under Criminal justice 1988 act s39
-ar- causing apprehension of immediate personal violence
-mr- intent or recklessness as to causing apprehension of immediate personal
violence
Apprehend means The victim need not be in fear, but must be aware that they’re
about to be subjected to violence
This can include words (R v Constanza), actions (Read v Coker), written or even
silence (R v Ireland). It can also be negated (Tuberville v savage)
The threat of Immediate personal violence must be imminent but not instantaneous
(smith v chief superintendent of Woking police station)
Ireland-
D made series of silent phone calls to three different women over three months
Silence can be assault
Logdon-
D pointed imitation firearm at woman, she was scared
Verbal assault
Constanza-
D launched hate campaign against work colleague through 8,000 threatening letters
Assault can be written
Smith v chief constable of Woking-
D peered through woman’s window at night
Not assault as it didn’t constitute immediate or imminent personal violence
Tuberville v savage-
Put hand on sword and said ‘if it weren’t assize time, I wouldn’t take such language
from you’
Assault negated by words
o Battery
Common law offence defined under the criminal justice act 1988 s39
-ar- applying unlawful force
-mr- intent or recklessness as to applying unlawful force
Unlawful force doesn’t only include violence it can mean any unwanted touching (R v
Thomas).
This can be indirect (DPP v K)
, Force can be applied through a continuing act (Fagan v mpc)
Consent makes the force lawful (Collins v Willcock)
Ar/mr case venna
8
Thomas-
Caretaker rubbed girls skirts
Touching clothes amounts to battery
Dpp v k
Boy put acid in hand dryer with end pointed up, v used hand dryer and went over
him
Application of force needn’t be directly applied
Collins v Willcock
Police officer grabbed arm of woman to stop her waliking off, woman scratched
police officers arm and charged with assault officer
Police officers’ actions amounted to a battery- no consent given for grabbing arm
o ABH
Offences against the person act 1861 s 47
-ar- assault or battery that causes actual bodily harm
-mr- intent or recklessness as to the assault or battery (R v Roberts)
Abh can be-
Meaning of Actual bodily harm was considered in R v Miller to include any hurt or
injury calculated to interfere with the health or comfort of the victim
Psychiatric harm (R v Chan Fook)
Cutting off a person’s hair (DPP v Smith)
Short loss of consciousness (T v DPP)
Mr case savage
Savage
D threw pint of beer over v, glass slipped out her hand and smashed and cut v
Not necessary to demonstrate d had mr in relation to the level of harm inflicted.
Sufficient that they intended or could foresee some harm will result
Chanfook
lodger accused of stealing engagement ring, they struck him and locked him upstairs
and then he tried to escape but suffered fractured wrist and dislocated hip. He
suffered fear and panic
not abh as feelings of fear and panic are emotions rather than ijury- without medical
evidence to support psychiatric condition a conviction of abh shouldn’t stand
Dpp v smith
Cut off ponytail of victim
Bodily harm can include any damage to v including dead tissue (hair)
, Dpp v k
Boy put acid in hand dryer with end pointed up, v used hand dryer and went over
him, got permeant scars
Bodily harm can be caused indirectly
T v dpp
D chased and kicked v, v lost consciousness
Abh can include loss of consciousness
Miller
D has sex with wife against her will and she suffered nervous shock
Nervus shock amounted to abh
o GBH S20
Offences against the person act 1861 s20
-ar-inflicting a wound or serious harm
-mr- intent or recklessness as to causing some harm
A wound is breaking two layers of skin (Eisenhower)
The case of DPP v Smith shows how grievous means serious
The cases of Ireland and burstow show inflict means cause
This can include
-a broken nose (saunders)
-HIV (Dica)
-Genital herpes (Golding)
-psychiatric harm (Burstow)
-combined injuries (Brown and stratton)
-mr cases savage, Parmenter
Burstow
D stalked v, v suffered severe depressive illness as a result
Psychiatric injury can be gbh
Jcc v Eisenhower
D shot multiple rounds from air gun at people, one pellet hit v, ruptured blood vessel
near eye
Not gbh- Wounding required a break in the ‘continuity of the skin’ that is the whole
skin, not merely a scrath to the outer layer
Dpp v smith
D was ordered by police to stop his car, police jumped onto car, fell off, killed by
oncoming car
Not murder as he didn’t have mr, but defines gbh as really serious harm
R v dica
D was HIV positive, had sex with two women and didn’t tell them
Liable for gbh
