legalEASE.
This cheat sheet is geared towards students who already have a base understanding of criminal law and non-fatal offences
During undergrad I made a table to summarise non-fatal offences, the table really helped me visualise what to touch on in my exam answers so I am sharing it here.
As you will know, criminal convictions are made up of the Actus Reus (AR) and Mens Rea (MR). AR refers to the guilty act or physical elements of the crime, whereas MR refers to the guilty mind or mental elements of the crime.
To explain how the table works I will walk you through the battery row
The AR, or guilty act, of battery is the infliction of unlawful personal violence.
The MR, or guilty mind, of battery is that the person inflicting the battery either intends to do so or is reckless as to the possibility that the act could cause unlawful personal violence.
To discuss AR and MR in an exam you should then consider omissions, physical contact and indirect harm. For example:
Does battery require physical contact?
In R v Thomas [1985] touching someone’s clothes was sufficient for a battery claim
Can the result be caused indirectly?
In DPP v K [1990] acid was poured into a hairdryer and when the hairdryer was subsequently used it caused the person burns, this indirect infliction of violence was sufficient for a battery claim
Can the AR be satisfied by an omission?
In Santana-Bermudez v DPP [2004] an individual was being searched by the police and had a syringe needle in their pocket, because they did not say they did when asked if they had anything on them the omission of this information caused the police officer harm, this omission was sufficient for a battery claim
Your exam answer should then consider any relevant defences
Throughout your answer you should refer to key statute sections and to the effect on the defendant (i.e., sentencing)
