FT210- Criminal - Seminar 6 - Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person - Kevin by Claire Turner

Link to Prezi

claire43 — 2022-11-01 12:31:40 UTC

Link to CPS Charging Standards

claire43 — 2022-11-01 12:31:44 UTC

Kevin lives in an apartment building and his upstairs neighbour, Mr Briggs, has recently taken up tap dancing. Mr Briggs often practices at 6am and Kevin has complained about the noise. One morning Kevin decides to deal with the problem. He climbs the stairs to Mr Briggs’ apartment and shouts through his letterbox “oi, if you don’t stop that I’m going to push you down the stairs!” Mr Briggs hears this but carries on with his practicing.

claire43 — 2023-10-26 15:16:39 UTC

Later, though, he decides to make a complaint to the apartment manager about Kevin. When he leaves his flat he sees Kevin on the lower balcony and suddenly decides to take off his shoe and throw it at Kevin’s head. The shoe is soft and bounces off Kevin’s head without doing any real harm.

Incensed, Kevin goes to the stairs to sit and wait for Mr Briggs to come down. As Mr Briggs runs down the stairs toward him Kevin realises that his legs are stretched out over the stairs and Mr Briggs is likely to fall over them. He decides not to move them. Mr Briggs trips over Kevin’s legs and bangs his head on the wall suffering a small bruise.

Question 2

claire43 — 2024-10-24 13:55:19 UTC

Mr Iqbal decided to have a joke with his new lodger, Bernard. From a sitting position in the front room, he pointed a legally held firearm at the front door of the house at the time Bernard was due to return home. Mr Iqbal failed to lower the firearm when Bernard did in fact walk through the door.

Upon seeing the gun, Bernard quickly turned to run to safety. In doing so, he slipped and fell on the steps leading to the front door, breaking his arm.

Bernard decided to look for alternative accommodation. Whilst doing so, he had to ‘sofa-surf’ between different friends’ houses. Bernard has now been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Discuss the criminal liability of Mr Iqbal for offences against the person.

Offence 1 - shouting through the letterbox - Defendant - Kevin - Assault

claire43 — 2025-10-29 09:35:58 UTC

Psychic assault -

Definition - Fagan - causing the victim to apprehend the application of immediate unlawful force

Apprehension? - Expectation of the application of force (Lamb)

Ireland - Doesn't have be certain, expectation is sufficient.

Prosecution - Words alone? Ireland - Conditional threat (Read v Coker)

Immediacy - Outside his door. Live in same apartment block. He could have carried out his threat as soon as he leaves his apartment block. Only has to be imminent threat (Ireland) within a relatively short period of time (Horseferry Road)

Defence - No expectation of violence as he carried on dancing.

Immediacy - Behind the door so he can't get in. No chance of applying force.

Mens Rea - Intention or recklessness as to causing the apprehension. Intention.

Offence 2 - Throwing shoe - defendant - Mr Briggs - Battery

claire43 — 2025-10-29 09:36:32 UTC

Collins v Wilcock - unlawful application of force

Threw the shoe at him intentionally.

Indirect? Causal link (DPP v K)

Offence 3 - Defendant - Kevin - failure to move his legs leading to the bruise - Battery/ABH

claire43 — 2025-10-29 09:37:24 UTC

Battery - Omission

Created dangerous situation (Miller)

Venna - MR - Intentional - application of force was a virtual certainty or at least a risk which he unjustly took.

S47 - ABH - small bruise - interfere health or comfort of the victim? (Miller) - arguably not. CPS charging standards - head injury needs medical treatment.

Occasioning - causing - unless Mr B 'daft' or 'unreasonable' (Roberts)

MR - No need to foresee the abh (Savage & Parmenter) States that he knew it was likely.