Non-fatal offences-Battery Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the AR of battery?

A

Infliction of force or violence (the merest touching)

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2
Q

What is the MR of battery?

A

Intention or subjective recklessness to commit the AR.

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3
Q

Where does battery come from?

A

Common law

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4
Q

What is battery?

A

The actual infliction of harm

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5
Q

What are assault and battery known as together and why?

A

Common assault
They both come from common law

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6
Q

What is the AR of battery?

A

The unlawful application of force on another.

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7
Q

What case was the definition of the AR of battery confirmed?

A

Ireland and Burstow

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8
Q

What is the MR of battery?

A

The defendant intentionally or recklessly applied force to the person of another

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9
Q

What case did the definition of the MR of battery come from?

A

Venna (1976)

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10
Q

Summarise the facts of Venna (1976).

A

The D struggled with the police officers who were arresting him.
D fell to the ground and lashed out wildly with his legs.
He fractured a bone in the hand of an officer.

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11
Q

What is the different elements which make up the AR of battery?

A
  1. The level of force needed
  2. An act
  3. Unlawful
  4. Indirect battery
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12
Q

Give the facts of Collins v Willcock.

A

A police officer committed battery by taking hold of the arm of a women suspected of (illegal) soliciting. (he did not intend to arrest her).

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13
Q

What did the court say about the level of force needed in order to commit battery in Collins v Willcock?

A

Any touching of another person, however slight, may amount to a battery.

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14
Q

Summarise Thomas (1985).

A

A school caretaker was convicted for battery after touching a pupil’s skirt.

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15
Q

What did the court deem in Thomas (1985)?

A

The court deemed touching someone’s clothes akin to touching the person.

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16
Q

What things, not touching someone directly, can constitute (amount to) battery?

A

A slap
Throwing a drink over someone
Touching someone’s clothes

17
Q

What did battery traditionally have to be?

A

An act, not an omission.

18
Q

Which case suggests that battery can be an omission where there is a duty to act?

A

Santana Bermudez (2003)

19
Q

Give the facts of Santana Bermudez (2003).

A

A police officer asked if there was anything in the D’s pocket.
He said no.
She searched him and was pricked by a drugs needle.
He was found liable for creating a dangerous situation.

20
Q

Generally, is there liability for a person for battery if the person has consented to the physical contact?

A

No

21
Q

When else is there no liability for battery, in regards to the level of force needed?

A

When the force used is reasonable.

22
Q

Why was the force in Collins v Willcock (1984) unreasonable?

A

She was not making an arrest.

23
Q

What did Lord Goff make clear in Collins v Willcock?

A

Not all touching is battery.

24
Q

Summarise exactly what Lord Goff said in Collins v Willcock (1984).

A

Most of the physical contacts of ordinary life are not actionable because they are impliedly consented to the risk of bodily contact.
Nobody can complain of the jostling which is inevitable from presence e.g a busy street or a party where someone is (within reason) slapped on the back.

25
Q

What case is a good example of what Lord Goff said in Collins v Willcock in regards regards to ‘generally acceptable’ force/behaviour?

A

McMillan v CPS (2008)

26
Q

Summarise the facts of McMillan v CPS (2008).

A

A drunken woman was taken by the arm by a policeman in order to steady her for her own safety.
This was not an assault as it was deemed within the bounds of normally accepted behaviour.

27
Q

If the physical contact that takes place is ‘generally acceptable’, when will liability occur?

A

If the physical contact goes beyond what is generally held to be acceptable e.g., squeezing a hand tightly until it hurts.

28
Q

When do indirect batteries take place?

A

When the D takes action which subsequently (after a time delay) lead to a physical force being acted on another individual.

29
Q

What cases are used to show indirect battery?

A

Martin (1881)
DDP v K (1990)
[use other 2 more] Haystead v Chief Constable of Derbyshire (2000)

30
Q

Give the facts and results of Martin (1881).

A

The accused placed an iron bar across the exit in a theatre.
He then shouted “fire”.
Several people hurt in ensuing crush which constituted battery.

31
Q

Summarise the facts of DPP v K (1990).

A

15 year old schoolboy hid sulphuric acid in a hand drier in a school toilet block.
Intended to remove it later without causing harm.
However, in the meantime, another pupil used drier and acid was sprayed in his face.
D liable for indirect battery.

32
Q

Summarise the facts of Haystead v Chief Constable of Derbyshire (2000).

A

D punched a woman causing her to drop her baby.

33
Q

What did the court say in Haystead v Chief Constable of Derbyshire (2000)?

A

They hold that the AR is present because the D had effectively used the woman as a weapon to harm the baby.

34
Q

In Venna (1976), what was the mens rea of battery confirmed as?

A

The intention to apply force to another or recklessness as to whether such force is applied.

35
Q

What does the intention in mens rea need to relate to?

A

The act itself not any harm which ensues.

36
Q

What case is used for showing transferred malice?

A

Latimer (1886)

37
Q

Summarise the facts of Latimer (1886).

A

D deliberately hit A with his belt, but the belt rebounded and accidentally hit B. The D was liable for battery against B due to “transferred malice.”

38
Q

Give some examples of common assault and battery injuries.

A

No more than:
Graze
Scratch
Abrasion (scraped/rubbed off skin)
Minor bruising
Black eye
Swelling
Reddening of skin
Superficial cuts
Non-displaced broken nose e.g., cracked bone

39
Q

What are things which aggravate common assault and battery?

A

Weapon
Biting
Gouging
Kicking V whilst on the ground
Strangulation (if it is more than fleeting (brief) and causes V to apprehend a real fear of immediate violence)