Serious Assaults - Wounding with Intent

Question 1

What i the difference between 188(1) and 188(2)

Answer 1

The outcome is the same but the intention is different

Question 2

Person

Answer 2

Gender neutral and proven by judicial notice or circumstantial evidence.

Question 3

Definition of Intent

Answer 3

In a criminal law context there are two specific types of intention in an offence. Firstly there must be an intention to commit the act and secondly, an intention to get a specific result

Question 4

To be a deliberate act the action must be…..

Answer 4

more then involuntary or accidental

Question 5

In ‘‘Intent to produce a result’what does result mean?

Answer 5

means aim objective or purpose

Question 6

Who is responsible for proving intent

Answer 6

The onus is on the prosecution.

Offenders admissions are best supported with circumstantial evidence.

Question 7

What are the main examples of how an offenders intent can be inferred

Answer 7

the offenders actions and words before, during and after the event

the surrounding circumstances

the nature of the act itself

Question 8

In serious assault cases, additional circumstancial evidence that may assist in proving an offenders intent may include…

Answer 8

prior threats
evidence of premeditation
the use of any weapon
whether any weapon used was opportunistic or purposely brought
the number of blows
the degree of force used
the body parts targeted by the offender
the degree of resistance or helplessness of the victim

Question 9

What degree of harm needs to be caused?

Answer 9

Wounding, maiming or disfiguration need not be grievous if the offender had the intent to cause really serious harm when the harm was caused.

Question 10

When does a person cause GBH?

Answer 10

In this context a person causes GBH if their actions make them criminally liable for it.

But S188 does not specify the manner in which the GBH is caused and and there is no reference to the use of violence so is not necessary to prove an assault in all cases

Question 11

Definition of GBH

Answer 11

can be defined simply as harm that is really serious.

As long as the harm is serious it does not need to involve life threatening or permanent injury

Question 12

What is a psychiatric Injury and what is required to prove it?

Answer 12

Psychiatric injury may be included in bodily harm but does not include emotions such as fear, distress, panic or a hysterical or nervous condition.

Expert evidence will be required before an issue of psychiatric injury arises

Question 13

When does the harm need to be caused?

Answer 13

It is not necessary for the offenders actions to result in a harmful consequence at the time of the action. All that is required for the actus reus is an act causing GBH. The link between between course and effect is a physical one and not one of time.

eg. infecting someone with HIV.

Question 14

Definition of Wounds

Answer 14

involves the breaking of the skin and the flowing of blood, either internally or eternally

Question 15

Wounds/Maims/Disfigures vs GBH

Answer 15

The terms wounds/maims/disfigures refer to the type of injury where grevious refers to the degree of seriousness of the injury.

Question 16

Definition of Maiming

Answer 16

mutilating, crippling or disabling a part of the body so as to deprive the victim of the use of a limb or one of the senses.
There needs to be some degree of permanence

Question 17

Definition of Disfigurement

Answer 17

To deform or deface, to mar or alter the figure or appearance of a person.
It does not need to be permanent

Question 18

What is the doctrine of transferred malice?

Answer 18

The defendant is still criminally liable even if they harm someone when intending to harm someone else whether through mistaken identity or accidentally inflicting harm on the wrong person

Question 19

Defnition of Injure

Answer 19

To injure means to cause actual bodily harm

Question 20

Definition of Actual bodily harm

Answer 20

Actual bodily harm may be internal or external and doesn’t need to be permanent.

Question 21

What parts of the body are able to be injured under the definition of actual bodily harm

Answer 21

All parts of the persons body including their organs, nervous system and brain. There for definition also cover psychiatric injury if there is medical evidence to support it.

Question 22

What is recklessness

Answer 22

Consciously and deliberately taking an unjustified risk

Question 23

What needs to be proven for recklessness

Answer 23

That the defendant consciously and deliberately took an unjustified risk

and

the risk was unreasonable to take in the circumstances as they were known to the defendant

Question 24

What needs to be proved in relation to the injury inflicted from a reckless act?

Answer 24

There must be proof that the defendant foresaw the risk of injury to others but it is not necessary that the person recognised the extent of the injury that would result.