Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Flashcards
Common Law offences against the person
- Assault
- Battery
Offences contrary to the Offences Against the Person Act 1861
s. 47: Assault occasioning Actual Bodily Harm
s. 20: Unlawful wounding or inflicting GBH
s. 18: Causing GBH with unlawful or malicious intent
s. 24: Administering a noxious substance so as to injure, aggrieve or annoy.
s. 23: Administering a noxious substance so as to kill or cause GBH
s. 47
Assault occasioning Actual Bodily Harm
s. 20
Unlawful wounding or inflicting GBH
s. 18
Causing GBH with unlawful or malicious intent
s. 24
Administering a noxious substance so as to injure, aggrieve or annoy
s. 23
Administering a noxious substance so as to kill or cause GBH
Assault is a common law offence
DPP v Little
Punishment prescribed by s. 39 CJA
Assault definition
‘any act which, intentionally or possibly recklessly, causes another person to apprehend immediate and unlawful violence’
Lord Hope: Island and Burstow
AR of Assault
Defined in: Fagan
- any act
- which causes another person to apprehend
- immediate
- personal violence
Assault can be both an act of omission or commission
DPP v Santana Bermuda
Assault: ‘Any Act’
Can include words alone (R v Wilson) and Silence (R v Ireland)
Assault: ‘which cases another person to apprehend’
Apprehend: ordinary english meaning of ‘understand’ or ‘perceive’
- there can be no assault if the victim did not perceive the threat (R v Lamb)
- it is irrelevant whether the defendant is actually able to carry out the threat (Logdon v DPP)
- Words spoken may negate an assault (Tuberville v Savage)
- Silent telephone calls and heavy breathing were capable of causing an apprehension of violence (Ireland and Burstow)
Assault: Immediate
Closer than ‘any future time’ (Turberville)
Can be fear of ‘imminent’ violence (Ireland)
- can be where the apprehension of violence extended over a longer period (Constanza - harassment for 2 years)
Assault: personal violence
The fear must be of physical violence to the victim (Ireland)
MR: Assault
- Intention or reckless as to causing the full AR (Venna)
- Cunning recklessness applies (R v Parmenter)
Battery
A common law offence
‘The actual intended use of unlawful force to another person without his consent’ (Fagan)
Battery: Force (AR)
- Can include any touch (Collins v Wilcock)
- includes through clothes (Thomas)
- No hostility is required (Faulkner v Talbot)
- Can be indirect (DPP v K: missile)(Haystead: dropping baby)
- It is a continuing act, so can include a deliberate failure to remove a force (Fagan)
MR: Battery
Intention Cunningham recklessness (Venna)
Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm (ABH) s. 47: AR
There must be an assault or battery causing ABH
Any hurt or injury calculated to interfere with the health or comfort of the victim (R v Miller)
- can include psychological injury (R v Chan Fook)
AOABH: level of injury
May not be so trivial as to be wholly insignificant (R v Chan Fook)
Can include the loss of consciousness (T v DPP)
The cutting of hair can amount to ACH (DPP v Smith)
Can include psychological harm (Ireland v Burstow)
AOABH: MR
Intention
Cunningham recklessness
Foresight no necessary (Savage)
Malicious Wounding or inflicting GBH
- wounding
- or GBH
- intention to commit an offence
MWGBH: AR
Wound: both layers of skin
- bruising is not enough (C (a minor) v Eisenhower)
GBH:
- serious harm (Saunders)
- really serious bodily harm (DPP v Smith)
- many smaller injuries could together (R v Bollom)
- Transmission of HIV (Dica)
- Transmission of Herpes (Goulding)
MWGBH: MR
Maliciously
- intention or Cunningham recklessness to cause some harm
- not necessary to cause the specific serious harm (R v Grimshaw)
- There must be an intention to commit an offence e.g. to resist arrest (Savage)
Wounding of Causing GBH with Intent (s. 18)
- Subject to life imprisonment
- Only difference between GBH and murder is the V dies
WoGBH with intent: AR
Wound - both layers of the skin (C v Eisenhower)
GBH - really serious bodily harm (DPP v Smith)
Causing
- not clear in academic commentaries but for all intents and purposes it is the same as ‘inflicting’
- must make out factual and legal causation
WoGBH with intention: MR
Intention to cause GBH
- not just ‘some harm’
Maliciously Administering Poison so as to Endanger life of Inflict GBH: AR
Administer
- also includes ‘cause to be administered/taken’ (R v Kennedy)
Poison or other destructive or noxious thing.
- noxious means something ‘liable to injure in common use’ (R v Cato)
To endanger the life of such person
- discussion of causation.
Maliciously Administering Poison so as to endanger life or inflict GBH: MR
Maliciously
- intentionally or Cunningham recklessly
- no need to intend specifically to endanger life/ inflict GBH
- D intended to administer/ be reckless about the simple act of administering itself.
Administering Poison so as to aggrieve, injure or annoy: AR
Administering:
- also includes ‘cause to be administered/taken’ (Kennedy)
- all that is needed is for the poison to come into contact with the body (Gillard)
Poison
- something that is ‘hurtful, unwholesome or objectionable’ (R v Marcus)
- Less strict than in Cato
Administering Poison so as to aggrieve, injure or annoy: MR
Maliciously
- intentionally or recklessly administering (Cunningham)
Intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy
- e.g. tear gas stinging eyes or a sleeping drug and then committing a sexual assault.
Most fights will be unlawful regardless of consent
AG’s Reference No. 6 1980
Consent is only a defence to common law assault and battery.
Where harm is intended and caused, consent is no defence at all unless it fits within a legitimate public policy exception.
Brown
Consensual activity in a heterosexual marriage was allowed, but only where the level of harm was not in excess
Wilson
Burning Breasts was excessive (Emmett)
Transmission of HIV can be consensual if there is informed consent
Kanzani
But liable if not consensual (Dica)
Unlawful bodily modifications were off no such social utility and contained a high risk of harm and should not be permitted even with consent.
R v BM
In relation to consent in sports
Have to ask the jury (Barnes)
- Was there sufficiently grave conduct to be categories as criminal?
- Was it in the heat of the moment?
- Was it unreasonable risk-taking?
- the type and the level of sport?
Consensual rough horseplay?
Consensual rough horseplay is allowed
Spinal injuries from birthday bumps (Jones)
Set on fire at an RAF initiation ceremony (Atkin)
