Offences Against the Person Flashcards
Where can the offences against the person be found?
Offences Against the Person Act 1861
What are the offences against the person?
From worst to least worst:
- s18
- s20
- s47
- Assault and Battery (common law)
Assault:
Lord Hope in R v Ireland :
“any act by which a person intentionally or recklessly causes another to apprehend immediate and unlawful violence”
AR: D causing V to apprehend or believe that V is about to suffer some personal violence
MR: Intend or be reckless as to causing the result
R v Constanza
Facts: D harassed V over a period of 20 months
V suffered clinical depression as a result
D claimed V suffered no immediate threat
Judgment: Guilty of assault
L.P: D caused V to apprehend violence at some point, not excluding the immediate future
- wide definition of imminence should be employed
Battery:
Collins v Wilcock
AR: Any unlawful contact with another
MR: Intention or recklessness as to the application of unlawful force to V
R v Thomas
Confirmed that touching can include touching a persons clothes
Defences to assault and battery
Lawful chastisement of children: Codified in s58 of the Children’s Act 2004
Consent to assault and battery: E.g shaking a hand
A.) V’s consent must be expressed or implied to D in a legally recognised manner
B.) V’s consent must be effective: V must have the capacity, freedom and information required to make a choice
R v Ireland
Facts: D made a series of silent calls to V
Convicted of s47
Appealed contending silence cannot amount to assault and psychiatric injury is not bodily harm
Judgment: Conviction upheld
L.P: Silence CAN amount to assault and Psychiatric harm can amount to bodily harm
Tuberville v Savage
Facts: D put hand on his sword and stated “if it were not assize time I would not take such language from you
Judgment: No assault
L.P: It was assize time so words negated the assault
R v Light
Husband held a shovel over wife’s head and said “if there wasn’t a copper outside I’d have your head in”
-> Threat suspended for only a short amount of time so still assault
DPP v K
Put acid into a hand dryer and left it
next person who used it got burned
Battery was found
s47 Assualt occasioning actual bodily harm
AR and MR of assault or battery + V suffers ABH, as a result = s47 liability
occasioning = causing
ABH includes: scratches, bruising, cutting hair, psychiatric injury
What is ABH?
DPP v Smith: “term requires no explanation”
R v Miller: “any hurt or injury that is calculated to interfere with the health or comfort of V”
R v Roberts
Facts:- D made unwanted sexual advances towards V and tried to take off the coat of V who jumped out fo a moving car suffering grazes and concussion (ABH)
-D claimed he did not foresee the risk V would jump out
Judgment: Guilty of s47
L.P: -Does not require D to foresee that his acts will cause ABH
(confirmed in Savage and Parmenter)
R v Chan-Fook
Fear cannot amount to ABH it has to be a recognised psychiatric injury
