non fatal offences ageist the person

"Non Fatal offences"-

Offences that does not cause death

Common Assault

assault and battery
summary offence
sec 39 CJA 1988
no statutory definition for either

Assault

putting a person in fear of immediate and unlawful personal violence with a mens rea of intention or subjective recklessness.
-no touching only fear
-summary offence

Battery

unlawful or hostile touching with mens rea of intention or subjective recklessness.
-summary offence

actus reus in assault

- an act which causes the victim to apprehend the infliction of immediate unlawful forces
-any act, words, letters or even silent phone calls

unlawful and malicios wonding inflicting GBH

-sec 20 OAPA 1861
-Trible either way offence
-unlawfully and malicosly wound or inflict any GBH
wound and GBH

Wound

-cut or breck in the continuity of the whole skin. internal sufficient
-JJC v. Eisenhower- internal bleeding with no cut-not sufficant
-r v Wood-Broken bone with no broken skin- not sufficant

GBH

Really serious harm (DPP v Smith)
harm doesn't need to be life threatening
dependent on the victims age and health
r v bollem

GBH with intent

S18 Offences Against the Person Act 1861
AR-wounding or causing GBH
MR-intention plus ulterior motive

Wounding/inflicting GBH

AR-wounding or inflicting GBH
MR-intention or reckless as to harm

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm

s47 Offences Against the Person Act 1861
AR-common assault or battery resulting in ABH
MR-intention or subjective recklessness to the common assault or battery

R v. Constanza

800 letters sent and number of phone calls to the victim. Victim interpreted the last two letters as threat.- fear of violence at some point- hence assault.

R v Chan Fook (1994)

Psychiatric harm can amount to ABH (however mere emotions can not)
Harm can not be so trivial as to be wholly insignificant.

GBH without intent sec 20

This still involves causing serious harm, but the prosecution doesn't need to prove the defendant intended to cause GBH. It's sufficient to show the defendant intentionally caused the harm, even if they didn't foresee the extent of the injury