GDL Law Notes GDL Criminal Law Notes
A collection of the best GDL notes the director of Oxbridge Notes (an Oxford law graduate) could find after combing through applications from top students and carefully evaluating each on accuracy, formatting, logical structure, spelling/grammar, conciseness and "wow-factor". In short these are what we believe to be the strongest set of GDL notes available in the UK this year. This collection of GDL notes is fully updated for recent exams, also making them the most up-to-date GDL study materials ...
The following is a more accessible plain text extract of the PDF sample above, taken from our GDL Criminal Law Notes. Due to the challenges of extracting text from PDFs, it will have odd formatting:
Not the same as being reckless in the ‘ordinary’ sense of the word: balancing the social utility or value of the activity against the probability and gravity of the harm that may occur
Classic definition: R v Cunningham:
Convicted of unlawfully and maliciously causing D to take a noxious thing vs. OAP 1861
At first instance, judge said ‘maliciously’ meant wickedly, but on appeal Lord Byrne gave a different definition of malice:
Actual intention to do the particular kind of harm that in fact was done; or,
Recklessness as to whether such harm should occur or not (has foreseen the risk but goes on to take it anyway)
Foresight of a consequence – must actually know of the existence of risk and deliberately take it: must prove the particular state of mind of the D at the time of committing the offence (Subjective Test)
Definition of recklessness in Clause 18 of the Law Commissioners Draft Criminal Code (1989): A person acts recklessly with respect to (a) a circumstance when he is aware of a risk that it exists or will exist; (b) a result when he is aware that a risk will occur; and it is, in the circumstances known to him, unreasonable to take that risk
What recklessness test to apply?
Apply Cunningham, unless the statute defines recklessness differently, in which case the statutory definition must be used
In criminal damage: R v G and Another is the test to apply (restatement of Cunningham)
For a period there was also an objective type of recklessness (Caldwell recklessness) but restricted to Criminal Damage and has now been modified by the HL in R v G and Another – reaffirming Cunningham recklessness:
Now for criminal damage you must prove:
At the time of committing the AR, the accused was subjectively aware of the risk and
In the circumstances known to him, it was objectively unreasonable for the accused to take that risk
The following principles apply to all forms of Mens Rea:
Negligence
Doesn’t feature much in criminal law, as it focusses on the civil law concept of the reasonable man rather than the D’s own state of mind
But it is the basis of liability in a number of statutory offences: e.g. careless driving
In manslaughter the negligence must be gross (R v Bateman)
Transferred Malice: If D intends to kill X, but misses and kills Y
Allows MR to be transferred and joined with the AR which caused the prohibited harm: transfer from the intended to the actual harm
R v Latimer: L aimed a blow at C with a belt – the belt recoiled and hit V, wounding her severely: intention to injure C was transferred to V
R v Mitchell: Principle applied to manslaughter
Gnango: D engaged in public gun fight with X and killed an innocent passer-by
However: The D must have the MR for the crime charged – cannot mix and match the MR of different crimes
R v Pembilton: threw a stone with intention of hitting a crowd of people, but caused criminal damage instead: intention was for a different crime so didn’t have the MR for criminal damage
Coincidence of AR and MR
Flexible interpretations to circumvent rule that D must have MR at the precise moment he commits AR:
The continuing act theory
Fagan v...
Buy the full version of these notes or essay plans and more in our GDL Criminal Law Notes.
A collection of the best GDL notes the director of Oxbridge Notes (an Oxford law graduate) could find after combing through applications from top students and carefully evaluating each on accuracy, formatting, logical structure, spelling/grammar, conciseness and "wow-factor". In short these are what we believe to be the strongest set of GDL notes available in the UK this year. This collection of GDL notes is fully updated for recent exams, also making them the most up-to-date GDL study materials ...
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