Class notes
week 5
- Course
- Institution
Lecture notes of 5 pages for the course Criminal Law at UoW (non fatal offences)
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
vickyhoney
Content preview
Non- Fatal Offences against the PersonAssault
- Common law offence but charged under s39 criminal justice act 1988
- Summary only offence
- Defined in Fagan (1969) and Venna (1976)
- A person is guilty of an assault if he intentionally or recklessly causes another person to apprehend the
application to his body of immediate unlawful force
Elements of Assault
- Actus Reus
- Causing the victim to apprehend the immediate application of unlawful personal force
- Mens Rea
- Intention or recklessness as to the apprehension of force
Actus Reus
- Can be committed by words alone - Ireland [1997]
- The most important factor is whether the victim apprehended the violence - constanza [1997]
- The force needs to be an immediate threat to the victim, which is subjective
- Circumstances are important - tuberville v Savage (1669)
- The meaning of the word immediate has been interpreted widely - at some time not excluding the
immediate future - constanza
Battery
- Common law offence but charged under s39 criminal justice act 1988
- Summary only offence
- Defined in savage [1992] and parmenter [1992]
- A person is guilty of batter if he intentionally or recklessly applies unlawful force to the body of another
person
Elements of battery
- Actus Reus
- Application of unlawful personal force to another
- Mens Rea
- Intention or recklessness as to the apprehension of force
- A battery often includes an assault, but is not always the case
Actus Reus - Application of Force
- Application of force - the word force is to be given its everyday meaning - even a mere touching can
amount to force - Cole v Turner (1704)
- E.g; throwing water on someone could amount to force (Pursell v Horn)
- The application of force also be committed indirectly;
Fagan v Metropolitan Police Commissioner (1969)
DPP v K [1990]
Haystead v CC of derbyshire [2000]
- A battery can be committed by an omission as well as a positive act if they have created a dangerous
situation (general legal duty)
DPP v K
DPP v Santana Bermudez [2003]
, Actus Reus - unlawful force and consent
- Force, or a threat of force, cannot be an assault or battery it it is lawful
- To be lawful, there needs to be a justification of the force;
Consent
Generally acceptable force in everyday life
Self defence, defence of another or property
Force occurred during a lawful arrest
There is a statutory use of force
Necessity
- It is for the prosecution to demonstrate that the force used was unlawful - this does not amount to a
defence
Mens Rea - assault and battery
Assault
- Intention to cause another to apprehend immediate unlawful personal force
- Or
- Recklessness as to such a apprehension
Battery
- Intention to apply unlawful force to another
- Or
- Recklessness as to such an application
Mens Rea
- Intention - direct or indirect
- Reckless - Apply R v G [2003]
- In case law, hostility has been equated to unlawfulness
- Collins v Wilcock [1984]
- Re F [1990]
Assault occasioning actual bodily harm
- S47 offence against the person act 1861
- Whosoever shall be convicted upon an indictment of any assault occasioning actual bodily harm shall
be liable …. To be kept in penal servitude
- Triable either way of offence
- This definition is not particularly helpful so we need to turn to case law to determine how this has been
interpreted
^ elements
Actus rea
- Assault
- Occasioning (causing)
- Actual bodily harm
Mens rea
- The same as assault and battery
Actus reus;
- Bodily harm - ‘has its ordinary meaning and includes any hurt or injury calculated to interfere with the
health or comfort of the victim’ Donovan [1934]
- Court also said that harm did not need to be permanent
- But must be ‘more than transient and trifling’
- Harm is synonymous with injury - Chan Fook [1994]
- Actual means that it cannot be trivial and insignificant
- Can include psychiatric injury - Chan Fook , Ireland
- Also includes temporary unconsciousness - T v DPP [2003]
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller vickyhoney. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $13.67. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
64438 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now