Assault occasioning Actual Bodily Harm Q2

Question 1

Introduction

Answer 1

• S.47 Offences Against the Person Act 1861.

- Common assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Question 2

Common Assault

Answer 2

• D must first either commit assault or battery.
• Assault: make V apprehend immediate unlawful violence (Smith)
• Battery: apply unlawful force (Collins v Wilcock)

Question 3

Occasioning

Answer 3

-The common assault (assault or battery) must cause the harm.
-Factual causation: but for Ds common assault, V would not have been harmed
(White).
-Legal causation: Ds common assault contributes to the harm in a more than minimal
way (Pagett).
-There are no intervening acts that break the chain of causation.(Roberts, Smith/Cheshire/Jordan)

Question 4

Actual Bodily Harm

Answer 4

-ABH is harm that is “more than trivial but less than serious” (Chan Fook).
-The harm can be physical, psychiatric or clinical but not emotions such as fear, distress or panic (Chan Fook).
-DPP v Smith: when D cut off Vs ponytail it did not cause any injury. However hair
was treated as part of the body so that ABH included bodily damage to V and not
just injury.
-DPP v K: D his chemicals in a hand drier which then sprayed V in the face. It was sufficient that the contact between D and V was not direct.

Question 5

Mens rea

Answer 5

-D only needs to have mens rea for the common assault (assault or battery).
-There is no need to prove any mens rea for the harm V suffers (Savage).
If you chose assault in paragraph 1:
Assault: intention or subjective recklessness to cause V to apprehend immediate unlawful violence.
If it is battery in paragraph 1:
Battery: intention or subjective recklessness to apply unlawful violence.
-Then choose which mens rea applies (direct, oblique or reckless) AND APPLY IT.