7. Non-fatal offences against the person

2021 ◽  
pp. 226-290
Author(s):  
John Child ◽  
David Ormerod
Keyword(s):  
Potential Application ◽  
Mens Rea ◽  
Bodily Harm ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
Grievous Bodily Harm ◽  
Actus Reus ◽  
Assault And Battery ◽  
Fatal Injuries

This chapter deals with non-fatal offences against the person, a variety of offences designed to criminalise behaviour ranging from the infliction of serious (non-fatal) injuries to potential targeting of any non-consensual contact. The chapter begins by explaining the offences of assault and battery, the actus reus and mens rea of each, and defences. It then considers relevant provisions of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 with respect to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm, and wounding or causing grievous bodily harm with intent. The chapter then considers ‘conduct focussed’ offences against the person, such as harassment and poisoning. Finally, the chapter outlines potential legal reforms concerning modernisation and re-codification, constructive liability, and consent; and the potential application of the offences against the person within a problem question. Relevant cases are highlighted throughout the chapter, with a brief summary of the main facts and judgment.

7. Non-fatal offences against the person

2019 ◽  
pp. 218-279
Author(s):  
John Child ◽  
David Ormerod
Keyword(s):  
Potential Application ◽  
Mens Rea ◽  
Bodily Harm ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
Grievous Bodily Harm ◽  
Actus Reus ◽  
Assault And Battery ◽  
Fatal Injuries

This chapter deals with non-fatal offences against the person, a variety of offences designed to criminalise behaviour ranging from the infliction of serious (non-fatal) injuries to potential targeting of any non-consensual contact. The chapter begins by explaining the offences of assault and battery, the actus reus and mens rea of each, and defences. It then considers relevant provisions of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 with respect to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm, and wounding or causing grievous bodily harm with intent. The chapter then considers ‘conduct focused’ offences against the person, such as harassment and poisoning. Finally the chapter outlines potential legal reforms concerning modernisation and re-codification, constructive liability, and consent; and the potential application of the offences against the person within a problem question. Relevant cases are highlighted throughout the chapter, with a brief summary of the main facts and judgment.

7. Non-fatal offences against the person

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Child ◽  
David Ormerod
Keyword(s):  
Potential Application ◽  
Mens Rea ◽  
Bodily Harm ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
Grievous Bodily Harm ◽  
Actus Reus ◽  
Assault And Battery ◽  
Fatal Injuries

This chapter deals with non-fatal offences against the person, a variety of offences designed to criminalise behaviour ranging from the infliction of serious (non-fatal) injuries to potential targeting of any non-consensual contact. The chapter begins by explaining the offences of assault and battery, the actus reus and mens rea of each, and defences. It then considers relevant provisions of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 with respect to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm, and wounding or causing grievous bodily harm with intent. The chapter then considers ‘conduct focused’ offences against the person, such as harassment and poisoning. Finally the chapter outlines potential legal reforms concerning modernisation and re-codification, constructive liability, and consent; and the potential application of the offences against the person within a problem question. Relevant cases are highlighted throughout the chapter, with a brief summary of the main facts and judgment.

5. Murder and voluntary manslaughter

2020 ◽  
pp. 99-132
Author(s):  
Nicola Monaghan
Keyword(s):  
Common Law ◽  
Mens Rea ◽  
Legal Knowledge ◽  
Loss Of Control ◽  
Bodily Harm ◽  
Grievous Bodily Harm ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Actus Reus ◽  
Partial Defences ◽  
Diminished Responsibility

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams, and exercises help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. This chapter explores the elements of murder and the partial defences which reduce a defendant’s liability to voluntary manslaughter. Murder is a common law offence that is committed when a defendant unlawfully causes the death of a person with an intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm (GBH). Where a defendant has both the actus reus and mens rea for murder, but also has one of three special, partial defences available to him, his liability for murder is reduced to that of manslaughter (voluntary manslaughter). Loss of control, diminished responsibility, suicide pact, and infanticide are also discussed.

10. Non-fatal offences against the person

2020 ◽  
pp. 452-514
Author(s):  
Janet Loveless ◽  
Mischa Allen ◽  
Caroline Derry
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Mens Rea ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Bodily Harm ◽  
Coercive Control ◽  
Grievous Bodily Harm ◽  
Actus Reus ◽  
Recent Reform

This chapter discusses the provisions of criminal law for non-fatal offences against the person in Great Britain, which include assault, battery, malicious wounding, grievous bodily harm, and racially and religiously aggravated assaults. It examines the distinction between these major offences against the person and discusses the actus reus and mens rea elements of them. The chapter evaluates the use of the consent and lawful chastisement in legal defence, analyses the relevant provisions of the Harassment Act 1997 and the new offence of coercive control, and reviews some recent reform proposals. It also provides examples of related cases and comments on the bases of court decisions on each of them.

scholarly journals Lesser Included Offences, Alternative Offences and Accessorial Liability

2016 ◽  
Vol 80 (6) ◽  
pp. 446-464
Author(s):  
Dennis J Baker
Keyword(s):  
Mens Rea ◽  
Bodily Harm ◽  
Aggravated Assault ◽  
Serious Crime ◽  
Grievous Bodily Harm ◽  
Actus Reus

In this essay I shall examine when an alternative offence and also a lesser-included offence is available for an accessory. Particular reference will be made to the offences of manslaughter and murder. It shall be argued that the decision in R v Jogee and Ruddock v The Queen is wrong as far as it holds that an accessory can be liable for manslaughter when the principal has been convicted of murder, because it is necessary to prove that the accessory intended the principal to perpetrate the actus reus of the relevant offence with the requisite mens rea for that offence. In such a scenario the accessory does not intentionally assist or encourage the more serious offence (murder), so she cannot be derivatively liable for it, and the principal does not perpetrate the less serious offence (manslaughter), so there is no offence of manslaughter for the accessory’s liability to derive from. The accessory only attempts to assist or encourage the principal to engage in conduct that has the potential to form the conduct element of constructive manslaughter. Such a conviction would rest on a presumption of participation in a result crime, when no result was in fact caused by the non-perpetrated crime (manslaughter), but instead the result was caused by an alternative more serious crime (murder), which was in fact perpetrated. If the principal had done the actus reus that the accessory intended (i.e. unlawfully inflict actual bodily harm), the victim most likely would not have been killed and it is pure speculation to suggest that the victim could have been killed by actual bodily harm as opposed to the act of grievous bodily harm or an act of intentional killing, which in fact killed the victim. It shall be argued that in such cases it is best to prosecute the putative assister or encourager under ss 44 or 45 of the Serious Crime Act 2007, for attempting to assist or encourage a potential aggravated assault.

5. Murder and voluntary manslaughter

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Monaghan
Keyword(s):  
Common Law ◽  
Mens Rea ◽  
Legal Knowledge ◽  
Loss Of Control ◽  
Bodily Harm ◽  
Grievous Bodily Harm ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Actus Reus ◽  
Partial Defences ◽  
Diminished Responsibility

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams, and exercises help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. This chapter explores the elements of murder and the partial defences which reduce a defendant’s liability to voluntary manslaughter. Murder is a common law offence that is committed when a defendant unlawfully causes the death of a person with an intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm (GBH). Where a defendant has both the actus reus and mens rea for murder, but also has one of three special, partial defences available to him, his liability for murder is reduced to that of manslaughter (voluntary manslaughter). Loss of control, diminished responsibility, suicide pact, and infanticide are also discussed.

10. Non-fatal offences against the person

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Loveless ◽  
Mischa Allen ◽  
Caroline Derry
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Mens Rea ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Bodily Harm ◽  
Grievous Bodily Harm ◽  
Actus Reus ◽  
Recent Reform

This chapter discusses the provisions of criminal law for non-fatal offences against the person in Great Britain, which include assault, battery, malicious wounding, grievous bodily harm, and racially and religiously aggravated assaults. It examines the distinction between these major offences against the person and discusses the actus reus and mens rea elements of them. The chapter evaluates the use of the consent and lawful chastisement in legal defence, analyses the relevant provisions of the Harassment Act 1997 and reviews some recent reform proposals. It also provides examples of related cases and comments on the bases of court decisions on each of them.

7. Homicide I

2020 ◽  
pp. 81-92
Author(s):  
Jonathan Herring
Keyword(s):  
Self Control ◽  
Mens Rea ◽  
Bodily Harm ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Loss Of Self ◽  
Serious Crime ◽  
Common Criticism ◽  
Grievous Bodily Harm ◽  
Partial Defences ◽  
Diminished Responsibility

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses murder, arguably the most serious crime in English law. Murder is where D kills V, and D intends to kill or intends to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH). The most common criticism of the offence of murder is that the sentence is mandatory irrespective of whether the mens rea is the more serious form (intent to kill) or the less serious form (intent to cause GBH). There were three partial defences to murder under the Homicide Act 1957 (diminished responsibility, provocation, and suicide pact). There are three partial defences to murder under the Homicide Act 1957 as amended and the Coroners and Justice Act 2009; diminished responsibility, loss of self-control, and suicide pact. The chapter considers the first two in detail. These are partial defences because they result in a conviction for manslaughter rather than a full acquittal.

16. Non-fatal offences against the person

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Ormerod ◽  
Karl Laird
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Bodily Harm ◽  
Grievous Bodily Harm ◽  
The Law ◽  
Prevention Of Crime ◽  
Assault And Battery

This chapter focuses on non-fatal offences against the person, including assault and battery, wounding and inflicting grievous bodily harm, poisoning offences, kidnapping, harassment, possession and use of offensive weapons. The chapter also discusses defences to assault and battery including consent, and lawful chastisement, in addition to the Law Commission’s Report on reforming offences against the person. The discussion includes a detailed analysis of the relevant statutory offences including the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, and the Prevention of Crime Act 1953. It also considers racially or religiously aggravated versions of the relevant offences.

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