Criminal offences and requirements Flashcards
Diminished responsibility
Abnormality of mental functioning
Arising from a recognised mental condition
Substantially impaired D’s ability to:
-conduct
-form a rational judgment
-exercise self-control
Provides an explanation for D’s conduct
Loss of control
Qualifying trigger (fear of serious violenceand/or attributable to something done or said which constituted circumstances of extremely grave character and justifiable sense of feeling seriously wronged)
Normal person might have acted in this way (ordinary tolerance and self-restraint - factors will not be considered which would affect normal tolerance and self-restraint)
Basic criminal damage (or arson)
AR:
Destroy or damage (by fire)
Property
Belonging to another
Without lawful excuse
MR:
Intention or recklessness as to destruction or damage to property belonging to another
Aggravated criminal damage (or arson)
AR:
Destroy or damage (by fire)
Property
MR:
Intention or recklessness as to destruction or damage of property
Intention or recklessness as to the endangerment of life by the damage or destruction
Theft
AR:
Appropriation
Property
Belonging to another
MR:
Dishonestly
Intention to permanently deprive
Robbery
AR:
Theft
Force (uses/seeks)
On any person
Use/threat of force immediately before/at the time of stealing
MR:
Intend to use force in order to steal
S9(1)(a) burglary
Enter as a trespasser and
Have intention to commit an ulterior offence of stealing; inflicting GBH; or unlawfully damage property.
S9(1)(b) burglary
Entered as a trespasser
Steal or attempt to steal or inflict or attempt to inflict GBH
Aggravated burglary
Commits any burglary
And at time has any firearm or imitation firearm, any weapon of offence, or any explosive.
Fraud by false representation
Dishonestly makes a false representation and
Intend
(i) to make a gain for himself or another
(ii) To cause a loss to another or to expose another to risk of loss
(only intention is needed - immaterial whether a gain or loss was actually caused)
Fraud by failure to disclose
(a) Dishonestly fails to disclose information which they are under a legal duty to disclose and
(b) intends by failing to disclose
(i) to make a gain for themselves/another
(ii) cause loss to another/expose another to risk of loss
Fraud by abuse of position
(a) occupies a position in which they are expected to safeguard/not to act against financial interests of another (objective test based on position of reasonable person)
(b) dishonestly abuses that position
(c) intends by means of the abuse of position to:
(i) make a gain for himself or another
(ii) to cause loss to another or expose another to risk of loss
(2) can abuse your position by an omission rather than an act.
Assault
AR: causing the victim to apprehend immediate unlawful personal violence
MR: intentionally or recklessly causing another to apprehend immediate unlawful personal violence
Battery
AR: Application of unlawful force
MR: Intention or recklessness as to applying unlawful force on another person
ABH
AR: Assault or battery
Occasioning
ABH
MR: mens rea for assault or battery
Malicious wounding or inflicting GBH (s20)
AR: Wound or inflict GBH
MR: Intend/reckless of causing some harm
Malicious wounding or inflicting GBH (s18)
AR: Wound or inflict GBH
MR: Intend to cause GBH (serious harm)
Unlawful act manslaughter
D intentionally (voluntarily) did an act
The act was unlawful
The unlawful act was dangerous (objective test: where the sober and reasonable person would recognise the risk of some harm, not serious harm)
The caused the death of the victim
Gross negligence manslaughter
Duty of care
Breach of duty
Breach caused death
Risk of death
Breach was sufficiently serious to constitute gross negligence
Self-defence
(1) D honestly believed that the use of force was necessary (can’t rely on mistake induced by voluntary intoxication) AND
(2) The level of force D used was objectively reasonable in the circumstances D believed them to be (householder v non-householder)
Who has the burden of proving self-defence, diminished responsibility and loss of control?
Prosecution disproving beyond reasonable doubt for self-defence and loss of control
Defence to prove on balance of probabilities for diminished responsibility
What does aid, abet, counsel, procure mean?
Aid - give help, support or assistance to principal offender (e.g. materials, tools, information, holding down victim) - need be no ‘but for’ causation nor a consensus
Abet - incite, instigate or encourage art time of offence (no casual link but principal must know they are being abetted)
Counsel - advice or encouragement before offence (no causal link but must be contact between parties before and connection between counselling and offence)
Procure - to endeavour (must be casual link between D’s action and offence) - e.g. D adding alcohol to P’s drink without his knowledge and then P driving over limit
What are the lawful excuses for criminal damage? When can lawful excuses not be used?
1) believes owner would have consented to damage (doesn’t have to reasonable, just needs to be honestly held - can include where belief resulted from intoxication (unlike self-defence))
2) Where D acts to protect their or another’s property:
(a) Acts to protect property
(b) believes property was in immediate need of protection
(c) Subjectively believed means of protection were reasonable
(d) Means were objectively capable of protecting property
Lawful excuses cannot be used for aggravated criminal damage!
What are the elements of consent?
What can you consent to?
What are the exceptions?
Victim consented + D believed victim consented (inc. either where D wrongly believed victim consented or victim consented, but D was not aware)
Only consent to assault or battery
Consent is available to ABH or worse if D only intended to commit a battery with consent, and did not see risk of inflicting ABH
V can consent to ABH or above if:
-Medical treatment
-Sport (reasonably expect during game)
-Horseplay
-Tattooing, body piercing, personal adornment
-Sexual gratification/accidental infliction of harm
-Lawful correction of child
