non fatal offences against the person Flashcards
what are the 5 non fatal offences against a person
assault, battery, abh, s.18 gbh, s.20 gbh
describe assault
- least serious non fatal offence
- d will not sustain injury
- there will be no contact between d and v
which act of parliament recognises assault
the criminal justice act 1988
which case gave the definition of assault
r v venna (the intentional or reckless causing of an apprehension of immediate unlawful violence)
what is common assault
battery and assault occurring at the same time
which case defined common assault
nelson (to have done something of a physical kind which causes the v to apprehend that they are about to be struck)
what is the actus reus for assault
- any act or words
2. which causes the d to apprehend immediate unlawful violence to be used against them
name two key cases for assault
- constanza ( d wrote 800 love letters, court said this was clear assault)
- tuberville v savage ‘if i were not assize time, i would not take such language from you’- clear he is not going to do anything so not an assault
what is the MR for assault
d must intentionally (r v mohan) or recklessly (r v cunningham) cause d to fear immediate unlawful violence
describe sentencing for assault
s39 of criminal justice act 1988 states that assault can be punished my fine, community order or custodial sentence up to 6 months.
describe battery
- second least serious non fatal offence
- d will not sustain injury
- must be contact between d and v
what act recognises battery
criminal justice act 1988
what is the ar for battery
application of unlawful force
- can be direct or indirect contact (touch vs booby trap)
- unlawful = lack of consent, does not include every day jostlings where there is implied consent
- force, no injury, only the slightest degree of force is needed
give two cases for battery
- r v thomas, d touched school girls skirt, this was an assault, touching someone’s clothes whilst they were wearing them was equivalent to touching them
- r v fagan, drove over police officers foot, officer was wearing steel capped boots so he didn’t get injured but the car over his foot was an indirect unlawful touch
what is the mr for assault
d must intentionally ( mohan ) or recklessly (cunningham) cause the unlawful touch
describe sentencing for battery
s39 criminal justice act 1988, fine, community order or prison sentence up to 6 months
what is the act for assault/ battery occasioning ABH
s47 offences against the person act 1987 (OAPA1987)
which case explained the meaning of abh and what did it say
chan fook
- any minor injury
- no degree of permanency/ easily treatable
- can be physical or psychiatric
- mere emotions such as fear stress or panic dont count
give three examples of abh injury
- broken nose
- single broken bone
- black eye
give two key cases for abh
- t v ddp, if a v blacks out, even momentarily then that will be abh
- r v ireland, silent phone calls to three women causing them all psychiatric injury
what is mr for ABH
the mr for the assault or battery that occasioned it
- assault= intentional or reckless cause of d to apprehend immediate unlawful violence
- battery= intentional or reckless application of unlawful force
describe sentencing for abh
s47 OAPA says a fine, community order or custodial sentence up to 5 years
what are the two types of gbh
s.20 OAPA, s.18 OAPA
what is the AR for both types of gbh, what case told us this
- burstow told us that AR is the same for each offence
1. wound
2. GBH
what are the two main cases for a wound and what did they tell us
- r v wood, both layers of skin had to be broken
- eisenhower, internal bleeding is not a wound
what is the main case for gbh and what are the other key elements about gbh
- saunders told us that gbh is ‘serious harm’
- harm does not have to be life threatening
- can be psychological / physical
name two leading cases for gbh
- dica, first case of gbh for the transmission of HIV
- brown and stratton, an accumulation of less severe injuries can amount to a GBH
what is the main difference between s.20 and s.18 gbh
MR
- s.20= recklessness/ intent to do some harm can be sufficient
- s.18inention to commit serious harm is always required /intent to resist arrest
what is the sentencing for GBH
- s.20= fine, community order, custodial sentence up to 5 years
- s.18= judge has the ability to impose a discretionary life sentence
name five criticism of offences against a person
- antiquated language (grevious)
- misunderstood language (assault / battery)
- sentencing anomalies (5 years for both abh and gbh, drastic sentencing difference between s.18 and s.20)
- plea bargaining (often charged with abh when should be s.20 gbh bc sentence is the same to reduce cost and time in the magistrates court)
- sentencing for s.18 and s.20 gbh focuses too much on MR and ignores the fact that victims have equally serious injury.
give a suggestion for reform of OAPA
home office report 1998
- labour produced an ‘offences against the person bill’
- new clause 2 would replace old s.20 gbh making the new offences sentence 7 years rather than 5.
