Assault and Battery Evaluation

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Created by
maisy

Cards (10)

  • Assault and Battery Strength
    *No definitions for battery and assault in statute but there is still sufficient case law to allow flexibility and sufficiently sentence defendants.
  • Assault and Battery Strength
    *Battery developed through courts to include indirect acts/force (Haystead) (DPP v K).
  • Assault and Battery Strength
    *Assault - 'immediate' satisfied if V didn't know what D would do next (Smith).
  • Assault and Battery Weakness
    *Not designed to work as one coherent hierarchy of offences, accordingly there is not a logical sentencing structure that reflects the seriousness of each offence.
    Little difference between battery and ABH but big difference in sentencing (ABH - 5 years, Battery - 6 months).
  • Assault and Battery Weakness
    *No measure of fear
  • Assault and Battery Weakness
    *No clear statutory definition of assault and battery - confusion.
  • Assault and Battery Weakness
    *Gap in the law must be immediate threat not a threat for tomorrow/in the future.
  • Assault and Battery Reform
    *1998 Draft Bill in Home Office Consultation Document. Set out 4 main offences, clause 4- assault and battery. Statutory definition. Was not passed into an act.
  • Assault and Battery Reform
    *Law Commission 2015, proposed to divide assault into two offences: physical assault (intentionally or recklessly touching V) and threatened assault (intentionally or recklessly causing V to apprehend immediate unlawful violence).
  • Assault and Battery Reform
    Keep sentence at 6 months.