Non-fatal offences against the person

Common assault

• Lowest level of an offence against the person

• S39 of Criminal Justice Act 1988

• Two types - Assault & Battery

Actus Reus of Assault

• An act to cause the victim to apprehend immediate application of force

Stephens v Myers

• D waved his clenched fist & threatened to throw V out

• Words were sufficient for assault

R v Lamb

• D shot & killed his friend during a game of Russian Roulette

• Not assault as D didn’t know the gun was loaded so V wasn’t in fear

R v Constanza

• D wrote over 800 letters to V & made a number of phone calls

• Shows words are sufficient for assault

R v Ireland

• D made silent phone calls to V

• Even silence can result in assault

Smith v Woking Police Station

• D looked into V’s window late at night

• Assault as doesn’t need to be immediate as long as it’s imminent

Mens Rea of Assault

• Intentionally or recklessly causing V to apprehend the immediate application of force

R v Venna

• D kicked policeman & broke a bone in his hand

• D must have intended or been reckless to causing V to apprehend force

R v Spratt

• D didn’t see the risk when shooting his pellet gun at bins

• Not reckless

Actus Reus of Battery

• Application of unlawful physical force

• Slightest touch was sufficient for battery (Cole v Turner) but now the touch must be hostile (Wilson v Pringle)

Haystead v DPP

• D hit woman & she dropped the baby she was holding

• Even indirect force is enough for battery

Fagan v Metropolitan Police

• D accidentally parked on police officer’s foot

• Battery occurred when he realised & refused to move

DPP v Santa Bermundez

• D didn’t tell the police woman he had a needle in his pockets when being searched

• Omission to act can be actus reus of battery

Mens Rea of Battery

Intention or recklessness to applying unlawful force

R v Savage

• D threw beer at V but the glass slipped & cut V

• D intended to throw beer so intended to apply force

R v Cunningham

• D broke gas metre & V became ill because of it

• Not deemed as reckless as didn’t see a risk due to low IQ

ABH

• s.47 of Offences Against a Persson Act

• Triable either way offence

• Up to 5 years imprisonment

• Must be a s.39 assault or battery

Actus Reus of ABH

• Occasioning bodily harm (assault or battery)

R v Chan-fook

• The word “actual” means the injuries should be more than trivial

R v Ireland

• The phone calls caused V to suffer from insomnia & cold sweats

T v DPP

• Being knocked unconscious, even momentarily, is enough for ABH

DPP v Smith

• D cut off girlfriend’s ponytail so was seen as more than trivial & ABH

Mens Rea of ABH

• Same as either assault or battery

Maliciously wounding

• s.20 or s.18 of the Offences Against a Person Act 1861

• Maximum 5 years sentence

Actus Reus of wounding

• To cause a break in the surface of the skin (both dermis & epidermis)

Moriarty v Brooks

• Pub landlord struck customer & cut his face

M’Loughlin

• Scratch or break to the outer skin is not sufficient if the inner skin remains intact

JCC v Eisenhower

• Internal bruising & bleeding in the eye wasn’t a wound

R v Dume

• D released his dog onto a policeman & said “kill that man”

• Wound can be inflicted directly or indirectly

AR of GBH

To cause really serious injury

R v Martin

• D blocked theatre exit with iron bar & caused people to be injured

• Can be done indirectly

R v Bollum

Level of injury must be put in context with V - if D is very young or old lesser injuries could be seen as GBH

R v Dica

• Can occur through HIV - D with HIV had unprotected sex with 2 women

R v Brown & Stratton

Numerous injuries eg broken tooth & nose can add up to GBH

Mens rea of s.20 wounding/GBH

• Intention or recklessness as to causing some harm

R v Mowatt

• D attacked V by sitting astride him & hit his head against the floor

• Court said D must have foreseen the risk of some physical harm

Mens rea of s.18 wounding/GBH

• To cause really serious injury or to resist arrest

R v Ramsell

• D arrested & told her dog to bite the officer

• Convicted under s.18 with intent to escape arrest

R v Piff

• D headbutted V & shattered his cheekbone & socket