CRIMINAL Flashcards
Summary Only Offences
- Assault
- Battery
- Simple criminal damage (£5000 or less)
- Attempt of SCD (£5000 or less)
- Low-value shoplifting (£200 or less)
Either-way offences
INDICTABLE
- Theft (and any shoplifting above £200)
- Burglary
- Fraud (by false representation, abuse of position, failing to disclose)
- Assault occasioning ABH
- S20 OAPA GBH (basic intent)
- Simple criminal damage (above £5000)
- Simple Arson
Indictable only offences
- Robbery
- S18 OAPA (specific intent)
- Aggravated arson
- Aggravated burglary
- Murder (or voluntary manslaughter)
- Involuntary manslaughter (unlawful act manslaughter or manslaughter by gross negligence)
Murder
AR & MR
Sentence
INDICTABLE ONLY
AR:
- unlawful
- killing
- human being
- (under) king’s peace
MR:
- malice aforethought
- intention to kill or to cause grievous bodily harm
(intent to killed or impose GBH)
Sentence:
Mandatory life imprisonment.
(Judge has no discretion unless recommending min.)
Voluntary Manslaughter
AR & MR same with murder
BUT
partial defences available: loss of control or diminished responsibility
Murder mandatory sentence will be reduced.
LOSS OF CONTROL LIMITATIONS
1- considered/planned desire for revenge
(ie. there is clear evidence of planning, D had time to think about the qualifying trigger)
2- excuse to use violence (it’s not enough that D° started the violence, it should be an excuse to impose deadly violence)
3- sexual infidelity
(exemption to sexual infidelity exception occurs if:
- was not the primary reason but in the background, should not be sole trigger so that jury has the whole story.
- there hasn’t been a SI, someone lied/made it up to taunt D°
- SI has not taken place yet)
4- attempted murder (cannot apply loss of control defence to attempt of murder)
5- addiction to alcohol/drugs
(D’s drug or alcohol addiction can be taken into consideration when assessing the magnitude of the qualifying trigger if D was taunted about the addition.
Addition will be a characteristic given to a normal person BUT the normal person will still have normal levels of tolerance and self-restraint and be sober)
Burden of proof for voluntary manslaughter defences
1- PROSECUTION proves beyond reasonable doubt when LOSS OF CONTROL defence is raised.
2- DEFENCE proves on the balance of probabilities that the DIMINISHED RESPONSIBILITY defence applies.
BASIC CRIMINAL DAMAGE
Summary if (value £5000 or less), either-way if more.
- damage or destroy
- property
- belonging to another
- without lawful excuse
- basic intent (intention or recklessness)
Sentence for basic criminal damage
Summary offence up to £5k damage/destruction – up to
3 months imprisonment & fine
BASIC ARSON
Either way.
- damage or destroy by fire
- property
- belonging to another
- without lawful excuse
- basic intent (intention or recklessness)
sentence: up to life imprisonment.
Damage
For basic CD/arson
- need not be permanent
- time, money and effort needed to restore = damage
- can be restored back to its original state without money or mark/stain =/= damage
- permanent or temporary impairment of value or usefulness
Recklessness test (R v G)
- accused was subjectively aware of a risk at the time of committing the AR
- in the circumstances known to the accused, it was objectively unreasonable for the accused to take that risk.
