AQA AS Law- Criminal Liability

• Voluntary: Hill v Baxter
• State of Affairs: Larsonneur

Causation:

• Factual- But for test- White
• Legal: De Minimus Rule- Benge
• New Intervening Acts: 3rd Party- Cheshire, Smith or Jordan. Own Act- Roberts, Williams and Davis

Omissions: Failure to act- this won't make you guilty unless you have a duty to act.

• Statutory: Road Traffic Act.
• Contractual: Pitwood.
• Relationship: Gibbons and Proctor.
• Voluntary: Stone v Dobinson.
• Official Position: Dytham
• Chain of events: Miller

Mental Element- Levels: Intention, Recklessness and Negligence.

Intention:

• Mohan: Desire to bring about the prohibited consequence.
• Oblique: intend one thing but another happens: Hancock  and Shankland.

Recklessness: Know of the risk but take it anyway.

• Cunningham: Gas meter

Transfered Malice: transfer intention from intended victim to actual.

• Latimer (Person to person) Pembleton (Person to object)

Coincidence: Actus Reus and Mens Rea present at the same time.

• Continuing act: Fagan
• Series of events: Thabo v Meli

Assault: S39 CJA: the apprehension of immediate unlawful force with intention or recklessness.

• Act: Constanza (letters) Ireland (phone calls)
• No fear- Lamb
• Immediate: Smith
• Words can negate the assault: Tuberville
• MR: Intention or recklessness.

Battery: S39 CJA: the application of immediate unlawful force with intention or recklessness.

• Continuing act: Fagan
• Indirect act: DPP v K
• MR: Intention or recklessness

ABH: S47 OAPA: Assault or battery occasioning in ABH, with intention or recklessness.

• Bruises, scratches or grazes.
• Burstow: Mild psychological harm.
• Miller: ABH is any harm which interferes with the health or comfort of the victim.
• Chan Fook: Harm means injury and has to be more than trivial.
• T v DPP: Loss of consciouness = ABH.
• MR: Intention or recklessness.

GBH: S20 and S18 OAPA: Wound or inflict/ cause GBH with intention or recklessness.

• Eisenhower: Wound is the break in the continutity of the whole skin.
• Saunders: GBH is serious harm.
• Chan Fook: serious psychological harm = GBH.
• Bollam: age and health need to be taken into account.
• Dica: can have biological GBH.
• MR: Intention or recklessness (S20) intention only (S18)

Aims:

• Punishment
• Protection of the public
• Reparation
• Rehab
• Deterrance
• Denunciation.

Factors:

• Background- previous convictions, medical and fincaial reports.
• Sentencing guidelines and pre-sentence reports.
• Aggrivating: racial, disability, previous or sexual orientation.
• Mitigating: remorse, no previous, mental or physical illness.

Range:

• Custodial: 6 months limit for Mags, Crown have no limit.
• Fines: £5,000 limit for Mags, Crown have no limit
• Community Service: CJA 2003- combine requirements: work/activity order, curfew or rehab.
• Discharge: Conditional (no crimes in a period of time) Absolute (no penalty imposed)

Summary Offence:

• Summoned/ Charged.
• Police decide bail- taken to court at 1st oppotunity if refused.
• D enters plea (guilty = sentencing) (not guilty = adjournement)
• Trial at Mags.

Triable Either Way Offence:

• Charged.
• Enters plea in Mags. Guilty = sentencing (Crown or Mags) Not Guilty = Mode of trial (decide on court.) If in Mags = D's election (trial by jury)
• Pre trail case managment hearing.
• Trial

Indictable Offence:

• Charged
• Police decide bail.
• 1st hearing at Mags- Admin (bail/ funding)
• Sent to Crown
• Pre-trail Management hearing
• Enters plea (guilty = sentencing) (not guilty = adjournment and trial)