Blackmail Flashcards
R v Hadjou
Described Blackmail as “the murder of the soul”
S21 Theft Act 1968
A person will be guilty of Blackmail if:
“With a view to gain for himself or another, or with intent to cause a loss to another. he makes unwarranted demands with menaces.”
Actus Reus - D must make a demand
It’s purpose must be to make V do something or stop doing something.
D’s demand can be expressed or implied.
By words, writing or gestures.
Collister and Warhurst
A demand need not be direct, i.e it does not need to be made explicitly to V.
Treacy v DPP
A demand is made when D has done all he can to communicate it. V does not need to receive the demand.
R v Lambert
Does not matter if menaces are carried out.
Actus Reus - With menaces…
Lawrence and Pomroy:
Word menace was an ordinary English word which the jury could be expected to understand without further guidance.
Thorne v Motor Trade association
Menace includes threats of ‘anything unpleasant or detrimental to V’ (not limited to violence)
R v Clear
Test of what constitutes menace.
It must be a threat of ‘such nature and extent that the mind of an ordinary person of normal stability and courage might be influenced or made apprehensive so as to accede unwillingly to the demand’
Victim does not need to be made apprehensive by threat.
R v Garwood
A threat on a weak V will only constitute a menace if D knows the likely impact of the demand on V e.g. Knowledge of V, V’s weaknesses.
R v Harry
D’s threat too mild to amount to menaces.
Mens rea - Demand must be unwarranted
i.e unreasonable, unjustified. Goes against principle of being innocent until proven guilty.
S21
Any demand with menaces will be unwarranted unless a 2 part test in S21 (1) is fulfilled - A demand is unwarranted unless D believed:
a) He had reasonable grounds for making the demand
b) uses menaces was proper way of backing up the demand.
R v Harvey
D is unlikely to believe the use of menaces was proper if it involves doing something illegal, especially violence.
Mens rea - With a view (intent) to make a gain OR intent to cause a loss
S34 Theft Act 1968 explains what is meant by the term ‘gain’ and ‘loss’
Gain - Keeping what one has
Getting what one has not
Loss - Parting with what one already has
Not getting what one might otherwise get.
What intends to gain/cause a loss must be…
Property (same meaning as S4 Theft)
Services like sex will not count as property.
D ONLY needs intention to make gain.
R v Bevans
D intending to gain ‘Morphine’; intended to gain actual morphine and relief of pain - D was intending to get something which he did not have yet.
R v Parkes
If D demands property which is owed to him, this can still count as intending to gain.
Debt repaid fulfills meaning of gain: Getting something you currently don’t have.
