In R v Bollom, it was also decided that the age and health of the victim should play a part in assessing the severity of the injuries caused. DPP v Smith (2006)- cutting Vs hair. The intention element of the mens rea is important in relation to where a wound occurs as it shows causing a wound with intention merely to wound as per the Eisenhower definition will not suffice. The meaning of the word inflict has caused some confusion over the years. Such injuries would have been less serious on a grown adult, and the jury could properly allow for that. crime by preventing the offender from committing more crime and putting others off from unless it can be established that the defendant was under a duty to care whereas a Biological GBH [Biological GBH] _is another aspect. The answer heavily relies on the implied sporting consent principle. care as a nurse because its her job to look after her patients and make sure they are safe, and get an apology. In this case the defendant passed gonorrhoea to two children through poor hygiene. This led to several people injuring themselves whilst trying to open the door. Held: The judge had been correct to say that what constituted grievous bodily harm had to be looked at in the context of the person harmed. The, be not directing Oliver to the doctors and her mens rea is that she couldn't be bothered to, something like this would happen but yet she still carried on by taking that risk and is a, but because she didn't do this it comes under negligence and a breach of duty, Jon, aged 14 decided to play a practical joke on his friend Zeika. In R v Miller the court stated that actual bodily harm was any hurt or injury calculated to interfere with the health or comfort of the victim. for a discharge or a fine but not so serious that a sentence must be given. In the case of R v Martin, the defendant placed an iron bar across the doorway of a theatre and then turned the lights off, causing panic. This was affirmed in the case of R v Parmenter [1991] 94 Cr App R 193 which considered the meaning of maliciously specifically in relation to the s.20 offence. A prison sentence will also be given when the court believes the public must be The defendant was charged with the s.20 offence but argued that he had not inflicted the GBH suffered by his victim on her in accordance with the Wilson understanding of the term as he had at no point applied any force to her, either directly or indirectly. It should be noted that intention is a subjective concept and the court is concerned entirely with what the defendant was intending when he committed the offence and not what a reasonable person may have perceived him to be intending. something back, for example, by the payment of compensation or through restorative justice. She succeeded in her case that the officer had committed battery, as he had gone beyond mere touching and had tried to restrain her, even though she was not being arrested. The appellant ripped a gas meter from the wall in order to steal the money in the meter. As well as this, words can also negate a threat. not necessary for us to set out why that was so because the statutory language is clear. the lawful apprehension of any person, shall be guilty. A battery may occur as part of a continuing act. Bodily harm needs no explanation, and grievous means no For an essay question you may be asked whether you feel the two should be charged under the same offence given the difference in severity. Take a look at some weird laws from around the world! ), Actual Bodily harm and Grievous Bodily Harm, Criminal-LAW- Revision Consent, Liability, Defences AND Causation, Criminal LAW Revision - Theft Robber Burglary Neccesity, Public Law (Constitutional, Administrative And Human Rights Law) (LA1020), Politics and International Relations (L200), Introduction to English Language (EN1023), Extensive lecture notes from the lectures Equity and Trust Law 2013/14 (64 pages), Macroeconomics Class - Complete Set Of Lecture Notes, Principles of Fashion Marketing- Marketing Audit Report, Endocrinology - Lecture notes 12,13,14,15, 314255810 02 Importance of Deen in Human Life, Introduction To Accounting Summary/Revision Notes, Changes in Key Theme - Psychology Revision for Component 2 OCR, Q1 Explain the relationship between resilience and mental wellbeing, Social Area - Psychology Revision for Component 2 OCR. applying contemporary social standards, In deciding whether injuries are grievous, an assessment has to be made of the effect of the harm on The difference between For instance, there is no The victim had been a 17 month old child who had received bruising and abrasions to her body arms and legs. It may be for example. Learn. Flower; Graeme Henderson), Tort Law Directions (Vera Bermingham; Carol Brennan), Commercial Law (Eric Baskind; Greg Osborne; Lee Roach), Criminal Law (Robert Wilson; Peter Wolstenholme Young), Marketing Metrics (Phillip E. Pfeifer; David J. Reibstein; Paul W. Farris; Neil T. Bendle), Public law (Mark Elliot and Robert Thomas), Principles of Anatomy and Physiology (Gerard J. Tortora; Bryan H. Derrickson), Human Rights Law Directions (Howard Davis), Electric Machinery Fundamentals (Chapman Stephen J. The Court explained inflict merely required force being applied to the body of the victim causing them to suffer GBH. If there is no wound as per the Eisenhower definition, then this does not negate the actus reus of the offence. Check out Adapt the A-level & GCSE revision timetable app. be not directing Oliver to the doctors and her mens rea is that she couldn't be bothered to It carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment. To conclude, the OAPA clearly remains to be Accordingly, as there is no strict legal test as to ascertaining what really serious harm is, it is necessary to look to case studies for guidance. indirectly injured her patient and breached her duty of care. 'PC Adamski required brain surgery after being pushed over and banging his head on a curb whilst attempting to arrest Janice'.-- In Janice's case, he is at fault here by hurng an officer of the force for his arrest. Case Summary Reference this Actual bodily harm. ways that may not be fair. Furthermore there are types of sentences that the court can impose As with any problem question on non-fatal offences against the person, make sure that you read the question in full first and check that the victim does not die as a result of the harm. The actus reus for Beth would He was convicted of driving when disqualified even though he believed it had been lifted as his licence had been sent back to him. He suffered genital herpes, but had unprotected sex and acknowledged acting recklessly. The main issues with the current law can be identified as follows: This is another hot topic for an essay question on these offences. On this basis the jury convicted and the defendant appealed. Golding v REGINA Introduction 1. Consider that on a literal interpretation a paper cut could constitute a wound which is clearly vastly less serious than the level of harm encompassed by GBH so it seems wrong that they are classed as equally serious for the purposes of charging! In the Ireland case, the appellant was convicted of three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm for harassing three women by making repeated silent telephone calls to them. There was a lot of bad feeling the two women and the defendant was unhappy to see the her. The defendant tried to appeal the charge on the basis that he believed inflict to require the direct application of force but the Court held that this was not the case as direct force was sufficient for the purposes of inflicting harm. For example, a defendant punches a thin pain of glass that the victim is standing behind, intending to break the glass but realising that in doing that it is virtually certain that he will hit the victim, even though this is not his primary intention. Focusing on the facts of Mr Burstows case, the defendant had become obsessed with a woman and began stalking her, carrying out random acts such as damaging her car and breaking into her home, stealing her clothes, throwing condoms all over her garden, subjecting her to silent phone calls and sending hate mail. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. S.20 Offences Against The Persons Act - to unlawfully and maliciously wound or inflict any Grievous Bodily Harm without intent, A wounding is a break in all layers of the skin, There is no difference between serious and really serious harm, Accumulation of minor injury can amount to GBH, The court can take into consideration particular characteristics of the victim to decide whether the injuries amount to GBH, Psychiatric injury can amount to GBH - the woman was diagnosed with having a severe depressive illness, Possible to inflict biological GBH (by transmitting HIV or a similar STD, Foresight of some physical harm only is required, Did the D appreciate that there was some risk involved, Must foresee that some harm may be suffered, Only required to be foresight that some harm may occur, not that it would occur. verdict Per Fulford J: We have no doubt that in determining the gravity of these injuries, it was necessary to consider them in their real context. ([]). The scope of this foresight was highlighted in DPP v A (2000) 164 JP 317 where the Court clarified that the defendant is only required to foresee that some harm might occur, not that it would occur. R v Bollom (2004) 2 Cr App R 6 The defendant was convicted of GBH under s.18 OAPA 1861 for injuries he inflicted on his partner's 17 month old daughter. R v Brown and Stratton [1988] Crim LR 484 stated that judges should not attempt to define this any further to a jury and that this is a wholly objective assessment. 43 Q What is the mens rea for section 20 GBH? Battery occurs whena person intentionally or recklessly applies unlawful force to another. DPP v Smith [1961] AC 290 explained that GBH should be given its ordinary and natural meaning, that is really serious harm. something and achieving the aim for example this is shown in the case of R v Mohan (1976) the individual, R v Billinghurst (1978)- broken jaw mens rea would be trying to scare her as a practical joke. In DPP v K, a schoolboy hid acid in a hand-drier, intending to remove it later. In order to address the many issues identified with the provisions, the Home Office presented a new draft Offences Against the Person Bill in 1998 which sought to mitigate the above issues. It was not necessary to prove that the harm was life-threatening or dangerous or permanent. 6 of 1980, A substantial loss of blood, usually requiring a transfusion, Those which require lengthy medical treatment or result in a period of incapacity, A permanent disability or loss of sensory functions, Dislocated joints, displaced limbs and fracturing to the skull. (i) Intention to do some grievous bodily harm or (ii) with intention to resist or prevent the lawful apprehension or detainment of any person. R v Bollom. The defendant was convicted under s.18 OAPA 1861 but it was left open for the jury to consider an offence under s.20. Actus reus is the conduct of the accused. A report has been filed showing Oliver, one of Beths patients As Zeika reached the top of the stairs, Jon jumped out and Balancing Conflicting Interests Between Human Rights. ), Criminal Law (Robert Wilson; Peter Wolstenholme Young), Rang & Dale's Pharmacology (Humphrey P. Rang; James M. Ritter; Rod J. After all, inflicting the same injuries to a strong and healthy 21 year old and a frail 90 year old will usually result in very different levels of harm and so the law should reflect this. Free resources to assist you with your legal studies! The word grievous is taken to mean serious. The actus reus for Jon is putting on a scary mask and hiding at the top of the stairs and the Psychiatric injury can amount to GBH - 'the woman was diagnosed with having a severe depressive illness' . This is shown in the case of R v Cunningham (1957). Assault occurswhen a person intentionally or recklessly causes another to apprehend immediate unlawful personal violence. Since this act was established in the 1800s it may not apply to crimes today. R v Clarence (1888) 22 QBD 23 presupposed that inflict required an assault to occur, and thus a husband who gave his wife a sexually transmitted disease could not be guilty as she did not know he had the disease and consented to the contact, negating the assault. It is the absolute maximum harm inflicted upon a person without it proving fatal. The Court of Appeal held these injuries were justly described as GBH. After work the defendant and his cousin went over to his fathers house and attacked her, breaking her nose, knocking out three teeth, causing a laceration over the one eye, a concussion and heavy bruising. We have no doubt that in determining the gravity of these injuries, it was necessary to consider them in their real context. We do not provide advice. not getting arrested and therefore pushed the PC over. Learn. The Court of Appeal therefore substituted a conviction for section 20 __GBH rather than section 18. Beths statement indicates that she couldnt be bothered to turn Oliver R v Bowen [1997] 1 WLR 372 R v Bowyer [2013] WLR(D) 130. . intended, for example R v Nedrick (1986). Tom is walking down the street and a police officer grabs him, handcuffs him and tries to force him into the back of a police car. statutory definition for assault or battery. All of the usual defences are available in relation to a charge of GBH. (DPP V Smith, R V Bollom) Mens rea: intention or recklessness to cause some harm (R V Parmenter) Malicious wounding section 20 offences against the Person act 1861 Theyre usually given for less serious crimes. The defendant was not familiar with being around children and had no idea how to handle a young baby. The court can take into consideration particular characteristics of the victim to decide whether the injuries amount to GBH . As the defendant was not used to handling the child he had no idea his conduct would cause the child harm. R v Brown (Anthony) [1994] 1 AC 212. by Will Chen; 2.I or your money back Check out our premium contract notes! Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of LawTeacher.net. The draft Bill proposed amending s.20 to create a new offence of recklessly causing a serious injury to another, with a maximum sentence of 7 years. drug addiction or alcohol abuse. This was the situation until R v Martin (1881) 8 QBD 54. who is elderly and bed bound, has suffered injuries as a consequence of not being turned as A harm can be a. GBH even though it would not pose a risk to the life of the victim (R v . Temporary injuries can be sufficient. The Court of Appeal held this was a misdirection as it did not correctly state that malicious included recklessness and that this is decided subjectively. fined depends on how severe the crime is and the offenders ability to pay. 2.I or your money backCheck out our premium contract notes! His actus reus was pushing PC Adamski over and his mens rea was . The defendants, Luff Development Ltd, acquired a site that would be suitable for developing property on. It can be seen from this that a general knowledge of PACE or indeed law in general is sufficient to identify that this is not a lawful detainment and therefore any reckless GBH or wounding caused by Tom in intending to resist the detainment by the police officer will be insufficient to satisfy the mens rea of s.18. Until then, there was no unlawful force applied. Entertainment the Painful Process of Rethinking Consent, https://www.lawinsport.com/topics/item/the-role-and-extent-of-criminal-sanctions-in-sport#references, The Regulation of on-the-ball Offences: Challenges in Court, Perceptions of Playing Culture in Sport: The Problem of Diverse Opinion in the Light of Barnes. The positi, defendant's actions. 25% off till end of Feb! In this casethe defendant put a metal bar across the exit of a theatre, turned off the lights and then shouted fire, fire! which provoked people to run towards the exit where the bar was. Facts The defendant inflicted various injuries upon his partner's seventeen month old child, including bruises and cuts. It can be an act of commission or act of omission, Intention to resist or prevent the lawful apprehension or detainer of any person. A Notably however, in the instance case, the defendants conviction for GBH under s. 18 was lessened to a charge of ABH under s. 47 as expert medical testimony suggested that the injuries sustained by the victim likely occurred over a prolonged period of time, rather than in the course of a single event, as would be necessary for a finding of GBH. convicted of gbh s.18 oapa. This provision refers to causing serious injury and makes no reference to inflicting, wounding or bodily harm. In addition, the defendant need not be in fear, i.e. The CPS Charging Standards do offer some guidance as to the type of injuries that may amount to GBH. Section 18 offences are the most serious of the non-fatal offences against the person and often it is sheer luck on the part of the defendant that the victim does not die. Copyright 2003 - 2023 - LawTeacher is a trading name of Business Bliss Consultants FZE, a company registered in United Arab Emirates. Accordingly, inflict can be taken to mean the direct or indirect application of force, or the causing of psychiatric harm. The actus reus of a s offence is identical to the actus reus of a s offence. In rejecting his appeal, the House of Lords extended the definition of inflict to situations where no physical force had been applied to the victim. This is well illustrated in the case of R v Nelson, where the Court of Appeal stated that What is required for common assault is for the defendant to have done something of a physical kind which causes someone else to apprehend that they are about to be struck. Restorative justice gives victims the chance to tell offenders about the impact of their crime Finally, the force which is threatened must be unlawful. In relation to this element of the mens rea, it is necessary for the prosecution also to prove the maliciously element. Case in Focus: R v Mowatt [1968] 1 QB 421. In this case a gunshot wound that caused internal bleeding in the form of a ruptured blood vessel did not constitute a wound as the external skin was still intact. All offences will start in the magistrates court regardless of how severe it is PART 2 - The House of Commons: The most powerful of Parliament's two houses. MR don't need to foresee serious injury, just some . For the purposes of this element of the actus reus it must first be shown that the harm was grievous. For example, hitting them or pushing them would suffice but chasing them and causing them to run into a wall or fall into a pit would not. Intending to humiliate her, the defendant threw the contents of a drink over the victim. Grievous bodily harm (GBH) and Wounding are the most serious of the non-fatal offences against the person, charged under s.18 and s.20 of the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861. verdict. Only full case reports are accepted in court. R v Lewis (1974) Which case decided that if GBH is used to escape arrest, it can be raised from S.20 GBH to S.18 GBH? It is this element of the offence that provides the crucial distinction between the s.18 charge and the s.20 charge. Furthermore, that they intended some injury or were reckless as to the injury being caused. Accordingly, the defendant appealed. Held: The judge had been correct to say that what constituted grievous bodily harm had to be looked at in the context of the . The maximum sentence was extended to reflect that it is more serious than a s.47 offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm which at present carries an identical sentence to the s.20 offence, despite the difference in severity of harm caused. A two-inch bruise for example on said 20-year-old might be painful but not really serious, whereas on a new born baby this would likely be indicative of a very severe risk to the health of the child. Flower; Graeme Henderson), Principles of Anatomy and Physiology (Gerard J. Tortora; Bryan H. Derrickson), Commercial Law (Eric Baskind; Greg Osborne; Lee Roach), Tort Law Directions (Vera Bermingham; Carol Brennan), Introductory Econometrics for Finance (Chris Brooks). If the GBH or wound is caused when the defendant is intending to resist an unlawful arrest, then this will be insufficient to satisfy the mens rea of the offence. establish the mens rea of murd er (R v Vick ers [1957]). unsatisfactory on the basis that it is unclear, uses old language and is structurally flawed. The mens rea for the s.20 offence is maliciously. R v Bollom [2004]2 Cr App R 50 The defendant was convicted of GBH under s.18 OAPA 1861 for injuries he inflicted on his partner's 17 month old daughter. malicious and not intended to hurt Zika, he has now caused her an injury by scaring her, This was reckless as proven by the actus reus but the men, Public law (Mark Elliot and Robert Thomas), Marketing Metrics (Phillip E. Pfeifer; David J. Reibstein; Paul W. Farris; Neil T. Bendle), Human Rights Law Directions (Howard Davis), Electric Machinery Fundamentals (Chapman Stephen J. The Commons, PART 1 - The House of Commons: The most powerful of Parliament's two houses. Result, crimes where the actus reus of the offence requi, as directed.-- In Beth's case, she is a care professional who has a duty to look after her, patients and direct them to the doctors when needed, because of Beths carelessne, indirectly injured her patient and breached her duty of care. whilst attempting to arrest Janice.-- In Janices case, he is at fault here by hurng an officer of R v Mandair (1994): on a s charge, a conviction under s is available as an alternative Judicial precedent is best understood as a practice of the courts and not as a set of binding rules. Test. Q1 - Write a summary about your future Higher Education studies by answering the following questions. Actus reus is the conduct of the accused. In light of these considerations, the correct approach is therefore to conduct an independent assessment of all the facts on a case by case basis. If this is evidenced, then the actus reus for the s.20 offence is satisfied and it is not necessary to prove the GBH element in addition for a charge to be available as this is an alternative element. He appealed on the basis of a misdirection and it was held that malicious is properly defined as possessing an actual intention to cause the harm or subjective recklessness as to whether such harm should occur or not. a 17 month old baby had bruising to her abdomen both arms and left legs d charged with s18 gbh. person shall be liable, For all practical purposes there is no difference between these two words the words cause and the two is the mens rea required. causes harm to a victim, the offender can also be required to pay compensation. There must be an intent to cause really serious bodily injury. Law; Criminal law; A2/A-level; OCR; Created by: 10dhall; Created on: 15-06-17 21:14; What happened in this case? R v Brown [1993] 2 All ER 75. Case in Focus: R v Savage [1991] 94 Cr App R 193. We grant these applications and deal with this matter as an appeal. The first point is that the apprehension being prevented must be lawful. R v Bollom would back this case as her injury was serious. Case in Focus: R v Cunningham [1957] 2 QB 396. Test. R v Morrison (1989) Pay attention to this section as for an essay question you may be asked to provide a discussion as to the meaning of inflict. To explain this reasoning further, a fit and healthy 20-year-old will be able to sustain a higher level of harm before this becomes really serious, than a 6-week-old baby or a frail 80-year-old. "these injuries on a 6ft adult would be less serious than on the elderly or someone who is physically or psychiatrically vulnerable. culpability it is more likely a 5 years imprisonment with a fine due to the fact the police officer The victims characteristics, including his age, must be considered in deciding whether the harm caused constitutes actual bodily harm, D dropped his partners baby (V) during a night of drinking causing bruising on Vs leg, V had sustained other injuries but evidence was unclear how, D was convicted under section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 for intentionally causing grievous bodily harm (GBH), D appealed on the basis that Vs injuries did not amount to GBH as they had to be assessed without reference to Vs age and health, Appeal allowed the conviction was substituted for assault occasioning actual bodily harm under s47, Assessment of the harm had to be made on the basis of effect on the particular individual, The injuries need not be life-threatening, dangerous or permanent to constitute GBH, Injuries had to be viewed collectively to assess whether they were serious, Injuries had to be caused by one continuous course of conduct constituting a continuous assault, Although Vs age had to be taken into account when assessing his injuries, the judge failed to direct the jury to determine Ds responsibility in inflicting the injuries was uncertain, as such the conviction was unsafe. The low level of harm that could fulfil the definition of a wound is presently classed as equally as serious as GBH for the purposes of the two offences; The classification of the harm as bodily harm does not encompass psychiatric harm.Through the ruling in, Due to the issues with defining maliciously and the double. [3] [25-28]. Looking for a flexible role? R v Bollom (2014) 'In deciding whether injuries are grievous, an assessment has to be made of the effect of the harm on the individual. This caused gas to escape. Assault occasioning ABH is defined as an assault which causes Bodily Harm (ABH). harm shall be liable Any assault R v Bollom. Match. criminal sentence. A wound is classified as a cut or break in the continuity of the skin. . Copyright 2023 StudeerSnel B.V., Keizersgracht 424, 1016 GC Amsterdam, KVK: 56829787, BTW: NL852321363B01, The normal rules of causation apply to dete, is no need for it to be permanent) should not be so tr, Introductory Econometrics for Finance (Chris Brooks), Rang & Dale's Pharmacology (Humphrey P. Rang; James M. Ritter; Rod J. R v Clarence (1888) 22 QBD 23 presupposed that inflict required an assault to occur, and thus a husband who gave his wife a sexually transmitted disease could not be guilty as she did not know he had the disease and consented to the contact, negating the assault. *You can also browse our support articles here >, Attorney Generals Reference no. Back then infection was common as tetanus shots, antibiotics were not as readily available as they are today, and people did not possess the knowledge of sterilisation, sanitation and treating wounds that we hold at present. This simply sets out that you cannot be guilty of wounding or inflicting GBH on yourself. R V Bollom (2004) D caused multiple bruises to a young baby. Due to the requirement for the arrest to be lawful it is necessary to have some knowledge of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 as to when an arrest will be lawful, however for examination purposes the examiner is not testing your knowledge of the Act and will make it easy for you. FREE courses, content, and other exciting giveaways. R v Saunders (1985)- broken nose Furthermore, there is no offence if the victim perceives that there is no threat. His appeal was allowed, holding that the correct interpretation of maliciously for the purposes of s.20 is intent or a subjective appreciation of the risk of harm and being reckless as to that harm occurring. He was charged with the offence of administering a noxious substances s.23 Act which required the defendant to maliciously administer a noxious thing to endanger life or inflict GBH. For example, punching someone in the face, intending to break their nose. R v Ratnasabapathy (2009)- brain damage The defendant appealed against his conviction for causing grievous bodily harm. After all, inflicting the same injuries to a strong and healthy 21 year old and a frail 90 year old will usually result in very different levels of harm and so the law should reflect this. PC Adamski required brain surgery after being pushed over and banging his head on a curb However, a cut could theoretically suffice where the greater level of harm was the intention. R v Chan fook - Harm can not be so trivial as to be wholly insignificant. An intention to wound is not enough, as seen in the case of R v Taylor, where it was unclear whether the defendant had intended serious harm by their actions.
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