Offences Against The Person Flashcards
What is Battery?
Intentional or reckless infliction of unlawful personal force by one person upon another.
AR - inflict unlawful personal (physical) force.
Wilson v Pringle - touching must be hostile.
Santana-Bermudez - can be committed by omission where D creates dangerous situation.
Does the force need to be applied directly?
Martin - D barred exists of.theatre and shouted fire. People injured when crushed against the panic escape. Example of indirect force.
DPP v K - confirmed Martin. D poured acid into a hand dyer. Liable for the indirect harm as there was no need for direct application.
Hays grad - d punched woman that was holding a child. Child fell. Indirect was sufficient.
MR -
Venna - intentionally or recklessly applied force.
Cummingham - D v DPP - D bite an officer whilst being arrested. Test if foresight of risk.
What is the punishment for battery?
Max: £5000 and/or 6 months. Fine if no injury is caused. Imprisonment if two or more aggravating factors.
All cases for battery.
Wilson v Pringle - hostile touching. Santana- Bermudez - creation of dangerous situation. DPP v K - acid Martin - theatre Haystack - child D v DPP - Cummingham Venna - intention or recklessness
What is the AR for ABH?
Offences Against the Person Act 1861 s.47
Three conditions:
(1) there must be an assault (technical or battery)
(2) that occasions or causes actual bodily harm (causation must be proved - Roberts)
(3) the assault must case actual bodily harm
Miller - includes any hurt or injury that infers with health and comfort.
Chan- Fook- harm = injury. Actual indicates that it should not be trivial but wholly significant.
R v DPP - momentary loss of consciousness could amount to actual bodily harm as it involved injurious impairment to V’s sensory functions.
D v Smith - ponytail. Hair falls within bodily.
Psychiatric illness
Chan- Fook - body includes the nervous system and the brain. Psychological harm can amount to ABH.
Ireland; Burstow - bodily harm includes psychiatric illness.
Morris - D caused V to suffer sleepless nights and pain. Evidence should have been adduced.
Dhailwal - only recognised psychological injury is permitted.
Applied to serious injuries. Relevant factors: medical intervention or permanent effects
What is the MR for ABH?
Mens rea of common assault.
Savage - D threw pint over V that cut him. Approved Roberts that MR for assault is sufficient.
What is the punishment for ABH?
Max - 5 years. 7 if racially aggravated.
What is the AR of GBH?
OAP, s 20. Wound or inflict GBH.
Brooks - wound necessitated the continuity of the whole outer skin or inner skin with cheek or lip be broken.
CPS - only charged when really serious.
DPP v Smith - GBH means really serious harm. This will depend on the vulnerability of the victim.
Bollom - bruising could amount to GBH an of an infant, elderly or unwell person. Q of fact for the jury.
GBH has to be ‘inflicted’:
Clarence - disease from consented sex. Not liable (before s.20)
Wilson - indirect or direct
Ireland;Burstow - no need for the application of force; psychiatric harm can be inflicted. Steyn noted minor difference between cause and inflict. If former likely to be the latter.
Hope - inflict is something that V finds unpleasant or harmful. Brown - s.20.
Questionable whether s.47 should be used as a lesser offence given that assault is not necessary. Wilson noted that inflicting meant inflicting by assault therefore it is necessary.
Dica - overruled Clarence. D could be liable for s.20 for passing HIV. Other elements must be met.
MR for GBH?
Maliciously - subjective Cummingham but what has to be foreseen?
Mowatt - D need only see some physical harm.
Savage - confirmed.
Depends on luck due to the principle of correspondence.
What is the punishment for GBH?
Max: 5 years. Irrational to have the same punishment for both sections
What is AR for wounding or causing GBH with intent?
S. 18. Same as s.20.
Ireland - ‘cause’ is wider than inflict
What is the MR for wounding or causing GBH with intent?
Two elements:
(1) maliciously
(2) with intent
Pucell - intention bears the same meaning as Nedrick.
Better view is that Woollin is applicable. D must have a direct intention or foresee GBH as a virtual certainty. Prosecution only secured on evidence of pre-mediation.
What is the punishment for GBH an with intent?
Max: life imprisonment.
What is the offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving?
Road traffic Act 1988, s. 1A
Serious injury - GBH.
Punishment: 5 years and a fine.
What are the reform proposals in this area?
Large difference in penalty highly anomalous same MR suffices for common assault and s.47 and the difference in harm only be slight. S.20 is supposed to be more serious than s.47 but both have the same max penalty. S.18 and 20 cover the same harm b have different penalties.
Should be restricted to represent a hierarchy of offences of seriousness. Draft offences against the person bill 1998.
Distinction between intention and reckless is significant to justify the difference in sentencing for moral and psychological issues. Not reflected for lesser injuries.
Issue defining injury - not play a part seriousness in prosecution.
Injury includes mental health which is too braod.
Gardner- single out the offences or have different offences for the V of the crime. Label would reflect wrongdoing and the maximum penalty. Argued that this would result in too many offices and distinctions. Broadly define matters and deal with them at sentencing stage.
No proportionality of sentencing.
What is a technical assault?
AR = D must make V apprehend imminent force e.g. Unlawful touching.
Ireland; Burstow - silent phone calls causing V to suffer psychiatric illness. Held - words and gestures constitute assault.
Read v Cooer - d threatened to break V’s neck if he did not leave the premises. Held conditional threat was sufficient .
Smith - D looking through V’s window at night . Although would have to break Insufficent to apprehend force.
Immediacy - broad interpretation
Ireland; Burstow - V has uncertainty about his intentions. Fear that his arrival is imminent. D guilty depending on circumstances and impact of the call.
Constanza - v received silent calls and letters. Final two was assaults as she suffered fear of violence at some time. Too far - unlikely to fear upon receipt of the letter.
Cox - apprehension of what might be done that caused V to have a nervous breakdown.
Stalking - series of acts intended to harass another. Protection from Harassment Act 1997. Harassment when conduct done twice or more and D knows that it is harassment.
MR - intentionally or recklessly
Spratt - air rifle cause confirmed Cummingham.
Brady - endorsed G applying.
