MR & AR

Question 1

S.39 assault (lamb)

Answer 1

AR- to cause apprehension of immediate unlawful force
MR- the intention or recklessness as to assault or battery

Question 2

s.47 ABH (R V Parmenter)

Answer 2

AR- assault or battery which causes actual bodily harm or some minor harm
MR- intention or recklessness as to assault or battery (Roberts)

Trivial as to be wholly and insignificant (needs to be more)

Question 3

s.20 GBH (Brown and Stratton)

Answer 3

AR- unlawful act to cause a wound or some minor harm
MR-must have intention or be reckless as to causing of some harm

Question 4

s.18 GBH

Answer 4

AR-is either wounding or GBH
MR-intentionally causing GBH

Question 5

battery (Collins v Wilcock)

Answer 5

AR-the application of unlawful force
MR-intention to apply force or recklessness (Venna)

Question 6

murder (Vickers)

Answer 6

AR-unlawful killing of a reasonable person in being under the kings or queens peace
MR-with malice aforethought express or implied/ intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm

Question 7

Conditional intent

Answer 7

It means that the individual intends to commit a criminal act if certain conditions are met or if specific events occur.

Question 8

Becoming unconscious

Answer 8

needs to be more than momentary for it to be considered GBH and not ABH

Question 9

Wounding

Answer 9

Wounding requires the breaking of the continuity of the WHOLE skin

Question 10

Psychiatric harm can be…

Answer 10

Abh or Gbh depending on the severity

Question 11

Actus reus three part analysis

Answer 11

Must set out all three elements of Actus Reus in an answer:
1.Conduct Element;
2.Circumstances Element; and
3.Result/Causation Element.

Question 12

Conduct element

Answer 12

Conduct = D’s physical act or omissions (i.e. failure to act)
■All criminal offences require establishing D’s conduct.
■D’s conduct is always the first element of Actus Reus (i.e. the first thing discussed in an answer)
■In an answer, state explicitly what D’s conduct is – either physical act or omission (cannot be both!)

Question 13

Conduct by omission three part test

Answer 13

Establishing D’s conduct via omission is a three-part test:

1. Offence capable of commission by omission; and
2. Defendant has a legally recognised duty to act; and
3. Defendant breached this legally recognised duty to act.

–NB: Cannot establish conduct element of Actus Reus by omission unless all three elements are satisfied.

Question 14

Legally recognised duty to act

Answer 14

To satisfy the second part of the test to establish conduct by omission, you must establish a legal duty to act.
■Multiple categories of legal duties to act:
–Offence-specific duties to act
–Contractual duties (Adomako 1995) (pitwood 1902)
–Close relationships (R v Hood 2003)
–Assumption of care
–Creating a dangerous situation
■D can be under multiple legal duties to act at once.
–Mention in your answer all the duties you see.

Question 15

Circumstances element

Answer 15

Circumstances = surrounding facts not performed by D + not caused by D’s action.
■Every criminal offence has some type of circumstances element.
■Circumstances can be physical or mental.
■Circumstances vary across offences.
■Not all circumstances are relevant to your analysis.
■NB: some criminal offences require particular circumstances to exist for criminal liability.

Question 16

Examples of Circumstances Element Required for a criminal offence

Answer 16

–Rape (Sexual Offences Act 2003) – at the time of penetration (conduct), V did not consent (circumstances).
–Theft (Theft Act 1968) – at the time of ‘appropriating’ property (conduct), there was property belonging to V (circumstances).
–Rape of a child under 13 (Sexual Offences Act 2003) – at the time of the penetration, V was under 13 years of age (circumstances).

Question 17

Result/ causation element

Answer 17

■D’s conduct can cause multiple results.
■Not all criminal offences require a result element for criminal liability.
■Result/causation element only relates to certain circumstances stemming from D’s conduct.
■Must establish a link between D’s conduct and the necessary result for criminal liability.
■Result/Causation analysis has two parts = Factual cause + Legal Cause
–A. Factual causation = Find factual causes +
–B. Legal causation = See if factual cause is also the legal cause.
■Must always show BOTH parts of causation in a problem question answer.