OAPA

Question 1

Assault and Battery

S.39 CJA 1988

Answer 1

Assault and Battery Common Law offences, both can be charged under S.39 CJA 1988
MR: Intention or Recklessness

Assault Definition: Act which causes V to apprehend immediate unlawful force

Battery Definition: Application of unlawful force

Assault Cases:

• Meade v Belt: Words Alone may satisfy
• Tuberville v Savage: Words may Negate Assault
• Constanza: Letters may be Assault
• Ireland: No Words At All may Satisfy
• Smith v Woking Police: Immediate means Imminent

Battery Cases:

• Collins v Wilcock: If officer grabs person whilst not making arrest, they are entitled to free themselves
• Thomas: Touching Clothes can be a Battery
• Fagan: Battery can be done through Continuing Act
• DPP v K: Battery can be done through indirect act (sulphuric acid in hand-dryer)
• DPP v Santana-Bermudez: Only case of Battery done by Omission

Question 2

Assault Occasioning ABH S.47 OAPA 1861

Answer 2

S.47 OAPA 1861
MR: Same as Assault/Battery

ABH Definition: Causing hurt or injury calculated to interfere with the health or comfort of the victim (Miller)

• Chan-Fook: Injury must not be so trivial as to be wholly insignificant, Psychological harm must be clinically recognised
• T v DPP: Loss of Consciousness ABH
• DPP v Smith: Cutting hair ABH
• Burstow: Recognisable Psychiatric Illness could be ABH

Question 3

Malicious Wounding or Inflicting GBH S.20 OAPA 1861

Answer 3

S.20 OAPA 1861
Definition: Unlawfully or Maliciously wounding person by intent or recklessness
MR: Maliciously means Cunningham Recklessness, Reckless or Intention
- Parmenter: Confirmed Cunningham Recklessness will be used

Wounding:

• Eisenhower: Must be break in the skin
• Wood: Broken Bone not Wound

Inflicting GBH:

• Smith: Really Serious Harm
• Saunders: Serious Harm
• Burstow: No difference between causing and inflicting, Psychological Harm could be GBH
• Bollom: Severity of injury assessed by V’s age and health
• Mowatt: D must foresee some harm
• Dica: Inflicting HIV is GBH

Question 4

Wounding or Causing GBH with Intent S.18 OAPA 1861

Answer 4

S.18 OAPA 1861
MR: Intention only
Resisting Arrest: If D has intention to resist arrest, can be reckless as to whether GBH is caused

Cunningham Recklessness (CR): ‘Maliciously’ meaning CR is only used in Resisting Arrest, doesn’t mean CR for wounding or causing GBH with intent

Wounding and Causing GBH:

• Specific Intent ‘Doing all you can to bring about prohibited consequence’
• Nedrick + Woolin: Oblique Intention> D can foresee with virtual certainty that GBH will occur
• Morrison: Resisting arrest, D dived through window and dragged officer with him, officer badly cut face, Cunningham recklessness used