General S47 Offences Against the Person Act 1861 Maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment Need an assault assault or battery plus actual bodily harm Actus Reus Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily harm ID: 381974
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Slide1
S.47 – Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily HarmSlide2
General
S.47 Offences Against the Person Act 1861
Maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment
Need an assault (assault or battery) plus actual bodily
harmSlide3
Actus Reus
Assault
Occasioning
Actual Bodily harmSlide4
Actus Reus -
Assault
Must be an assault or batterySlide5
Actus Reus –
Occasioning
Causation – the assault or battery must occasion the harm
Roberts – normal rules of causation apply – were V’s actions reasonably foreseeable? V might not act in a sensible manner in a moment of fright, but a D might not be held responsible if the V does something “daft” or unexpected that no reasonable man would foreseeSlide6
Actus Reus –
Actual Bodily Harm
Must be some form of physical or psychological injury caused to V
Miller
– “
any hurt or injury calculated to interfere with the health or comfort of the victim” but must be more than “transient or trifling”
Chan
Fook
– harm must be more than
trivial
Examples of ABH injuries – lost/broken tooth, loss of consciousness, minor cuts requiring medical treatment (e.g. stitches), minor fractures, extreme
bruising
DPP
v
Smith
– cutting off someone’s hair was harm as it is part of the
body
Chan
Fook
– harm includes psychiatric harm but
state of mind caused in V must be evidence of an identifiable clinical condition - not
“mere emotions such as fear, distress or panic
”
Note that definition of ABH in Miller not suitable when considering psychiatric harm as these cases require a more serious degree of harmSlide7
Mens Rea
Savage
- only
need
mens
rea for the assault or
battery. Either:
Intention or subjective
recklessness to cause V to apprehend immediate and unlawful violence; or
Intention or subjective recklessness as to the application of unlawful force
D does not need to intend or be reckless as to any harm
Savage
– D
threw beer at another girl, glass slipped, cutting the victim. Throwing of beer was battery (applying unlawful force) and she intended to throw it so had
MR for battery.
She had the AR and MR for battery plus some harm had been causedSlide8
Answering Questions on S.47 Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm
Was there an
assault
(assault or battery)?
Is there
causation
? The
assault or battery must
occasion
the
harm
Is there
actual bodily harm
?
Is there
mens
rea
for either assault or battery
?:
Intention or subjective recklessness
to cause V to apprehend immediate and unlawful violence; or
Intention or subjective recklessness
as to the application of unlawful
force