Criminal | Offences Against The Person

Non-Fatal Offences: Assault Liability

7 November 2011 Download

assault is both a general term for a physical attack on another person and a specific offence
common assault is lowest level of offence against the person
not defined in any Act of Parliament, evolved through case law
Criminal Justice Act 1988
- S39 does not define common assault
- states the maximum term of imprisonment (6 months) and is a summary offence
Little (1992)
- assault should be considered statutory offence, even though S39 of Criminal Justice Act 1988 only fixes penalty and tariff
two types of common assault: assault and battery

acts or words must cause V to fear that immediate force is going to be used against them
Logdon (1976)
- D pointed a replica gun at V as a joke, V was terrified until she was told it was a replica
- held V had apprehended immediate physical violence and D had been reckless as to whether this would occur
emphasis on what V thought was about to happen
Smith v Chief Superintendent of Woking Police Station (1983)
- D entered a private garden and looked through V’s window, V was terrified and thought D was about to enter the room
- held enough for assault, despite there being a locked window between D and V
Words alone or even silence can constitute assault
Ireland (1997)
- D terrorised V, with silent phone calls
- V suffered psychiatric injury, amounted to common assault
consistent with law developed to deal with stalkers prior to Protection from Harrassment Act 1997
written words may be enough
Constanza (1997)
- D stalked V, sending V over 800 letters in a period of 4 months
- held the content of the letters were assaults as V read them as threats
follows that content of emails or text messages or other written communication may be sufficient
words can also make clear an assault is not imminent
Tuberville v Savage (1669)
- D was insulted by comments made by C, placing his hand on his sword, stating If it were not assize-time, I would not take such language from you...
- C tried to sue D for assault
- held words can made clear an assault was not going to take place

courts take a fairly liberal approach to meaning of immediate, in order to give justice to V
Smith v Chief Superintendent of Woking Police Station (1983)
- ... when one is in a state of terror, one is very often unable to analyse precisely what one is frightened of as likely to happen next..
Ireland (1997)
- immediacy found in phone calls made by D, V may fear the purpose of call was to establish whether she was at home

threatened violence must be unlawful
a policeman may threaten to handcuff or restrain if someone resists arrest, not an unlawful action

mens rea satisfied when D intends to cause V to apprehend immediate physical violence or does this recklessly
Savage (1991)
- mens rea is: .. intention to cause the victim to apprehend unlawful and immediate violence or reckless whether such an apprehension be caused...
either direct or oblique intention as to causing immediate, unlawful fear in the victim that he might suffer some harm
or subjective recklessness as to causing immediate, unlawful fear in the victim that he might suffer some harm
Cunningham (1957)
- D removed gas meter from empty house to steal money, caused a gas leak which seeped next door, V, a neighbour, became ill
- court found D must either intend the consequence or realise that there was a risk of the consequence happening and decide to take that risk