Criminal Law - Non Fatal Offences Against The Person Flashcards
What is actual bodily harm?
Offence against the person act 1861
S47 - assault occasioning actual bodily harm
What is meant by assault (ABH)?
The actus reus of assault or battery resulting in ABH
DPP v Taylor
What is meant by occasioing (ABH)?
Need
Factual causation (R v White)
Legal causation (R v Smith) - operant and substantial with no intervening acts, need not be the only cause
What is meant by ABH?
R v Donovan - any hurt or injury calculated to interfere with the health or comfort of the victim
Need not be permenant - T v DPP
More than merely transient and trifling
Mind or body (psychological in R v Chan Fook)
DPP v Smith - can be cutting hair
What is the mens rea for ABH?
Intention or recklessness to cause the assault or battery
Need not foresee harm - R v Roberts and confirmed in R v Savage
What is assault?
S39 Coroners and Justice Act 1988 - anything the victim does to apprehend the immediate unlawful force/violence
What is meant by apprehend (assault)?
General awareness of violence - Smith v CS Woking Police
What is meant by immediate (assault)?
Within a reasonable period of time - smith v CS of Woking police
What is meant by force/violence (assault)?
Doesn’t need to be physical violence - R v Ireland
What can count as assault?
Words
Silent phone calls - R v Constanza
Racist letters - DPP v Ramos
Spitting - R v Misalati
What is the mens rea of assault?
Intention or recklessness to cause the actus reus
R v Mohan
R v Cunningham
Can assault be conditional?
No, if there is a condition it cannot be assault (R v Tuberville and Savage)
What is battery?
The application of unlawful force
Can be any touch as long as it goes beyond the norms of everyday conduct
R v Thomas (touching a skirt)
Collins v Wilcock (police officer and prostitute)
Wood v DPP
Pegram v DPP
R v Fagan (continuing act)
Can battery be indirect?
Yes, DPP v K (acid in a hand-dryer)
Can battery be an omission?
Yes - DPP v Santa-Bermudez
What is the mens rea of battery?
Intention or subjective recklessness to cause unlawful force
What is grievous bodily harm (S20)?
S20 Offence Against The Person Act - wounded or inflicted GBH intending some injury to be caused or being reckless as to whether some injury is caused
What is meant by wounding (GBH)?
A break to the continuity of the whole skin (JCC v Eisenhower) (Moriarty v Brookes)
What is meant by inflicted (GBH)?
To cause
Some injury (GBH)?
R v Savage
What is meant by GBH?
Really serious harm (DPP v Smith)
Need not be permenant or life threatening
Brief unconsciousness can count - R v Hicks
Inflicting a severe disease - R v Dicks
Can be psychiatric if clinically severe - R v Burstow
What is meant by reckless (GBH)?
Maliciously (unclear meaning - area for reform)
R v Cunningham
What is grievous bodily harm S18?
S18 offence against the person act - intention to cause really serious harm
R v Woollin
Intention to wound is insufficient for mens rea
R v Taylor
If you resist or prevent arrest there need only be recklessness as to causing a wound or injury
