Assault

Question 1

What is an assault?

Answer 1

“An [intentional] act which causes another person to apprehend the infliction of immediate, unlawful, force on his person”

Question 2

What’s an example of an assault?

Answer 2

Going to hit someone and missing, holding up your hand without saying anything (Tuberville) , holding a gun at someone

Question 3

Tuberville v Savage 1669 UK 🗡️

Answer 3

Facts: Savage made a statement that Tuberville took offence to. Tuberville then placed his hand on his sword, warning Savage he wouldn’t assault him. Savage, took offence and poked Tuberville’s eye out. Tuberville sued. Savage said he had responded because he had been assaulted

• There must be intention to carry out the threat
• To determine intention, we must consider the words and actions together in context (the whole situation must accessed together)
• The declaration from Tuberville wasn’t enough to amount to assault

Question 4

Richardson v Rix 1989 🔑

Answer 4

Facts: Someone reached in and grabbed the keys from the ignition out of someone else’s car

• Assault is committed by intending to create in the claimant a reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive bodily contact by the respondent
  (aka there must be indicated intention)
  BUT Assault can occur even if the battery does not eventuate

Question 5

Brady v Schatzel 1911 🔫

Answer 5

Facts: The Parties were having a dispute and Brady raised his rifle imitating that he would shoot schatzel. The gun was not loaded.

• The apprehension of battery must be reasonable. objective test - would a reasonable person in the place of the claimant reasonably fear or apprehend that they would be subject to a battery
• It is irrelevant that the claimant was not afraid.

Question 6

Holcombe v Whitaker 1975 🤬👰👰🏽

Answer 6

Facts: Whitaker married a man, found out he was already married to another woman. She asked him to divorce his first wife, or her. He threatened her that if she took him to court, he would kill her and then continually harassed her.
- The threat can be conditional ie ‘do this or else’

Question 7

Police v Greaves 🔪 🩸

Answer 7

Facts: Police came over after Greaves attacked his neighbour. Greaves threatened police if they came any closer he’d stab them in the guts.
- Conditional response is still an assault

Question 8

R v Kerr 🪓

Answer 8

Facts: Woman is asleep (she has rested an axe on her hat), her neighbour comes over holds the axe over her – her daughter sees him do this and is scared he’ll hurt her mother

• The claimant must be aware of the imminent threat so that they can apprehend the battery

Question 9

Stephens v Myers 👊

Answer 9

Facts: At a parish council, Myers got angry, told Stephens he was going to pull him off his chair. There were people in-between the two, stopping Myers from carrying out his threat.

• There must be means of carrying that threat into effect - Battery must be imminent