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LPC Law Notes Criminal Litigation Notes

Offences Evidence Notes

Updated Offences Evidence Notes

Criminal Litigation Notes

Criminal Litigation

Approximately 143 pages

A collection of the best LPC Criminal Litigation notes the director of Oxbridge Notes (an Oxford law graduate) could find after combing through dozens of LPC samples from outstanding students with the highest results in England 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 Criminal Lit notes available in the UK this year. This collection of notes is fully up...

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The following is a more accessible plain text extract of the PDF sample above, taken from our Criminal Litigation Notes. Due to the challenges of extracting text from PDFs, it will have odd formatting:

Offences & Evidence

Key Offences

ABH
s.47 OAPA 1861
Assault occasioning actual bodily harm
Actus Reus
Assault or battery
which causes
Actual bodily harm
Either way offence
Max: 5 years imprisonment
Mens Rea
Intension or recklessness as the to assault or battery
Affray
The fighting of two or more persons in a public place that disturbs others.
Actus Reus
Using or threatening unlawful force towards another causing a person of reasonable firmness to fear for their personal safety
Either way
3 years imprisonment
Mens Rea
Intension or recklessness
Possession of an Offensive Weapon
1 (4) Prevention of Crimes Act 1953.
Possession of a weapon in a public place with the intension to cause injury
Actus Reus
Having an offensive weapon
In a public place
Without lawful authority or reasonable excuse
Offensive weapons can be:
An article made for inflicting injury (‘per se’) (e.g. knuckle dusters)
An article adapted for causing injury (broken bottles or sharpened toothbrushes)
Innocent articles (e.g. baseball bats)
Either way
Max: 4 years imprisonment
Mens Rea
Intension to cause injury.
This changes innocent items (e.g. keys) into offensive weapons.
Theft
s.1(1) Theft Act
Dishonestly appropriate property belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive the other of it.
Actus Reus
Appropriation
Property
Belonging to another
Either way offence
Max: 7 years imprisonment
Mens Rea
Dishonesty
Intention to permanently deprive

Giving Advice

The solicitor’s advice will depend upon the:
Disclosure: if there is not enough disclosure for the solicitor to advise their client then no adverse inferences will be made from silence under s.34 CJPOA.
Evidence: the defendant is under no obligation to provide the police with evidence and therefore a lack of evidence means it is reasonable to give a no comment interview.
Argent: these factors such as age, intoxication, mental capacity etc. can mean it is justified to give a no comment interview or to give a prepared statement.
Defence: the defendant should raise a defence as early as possible, but only when it is reasonable for them to do so. No adverse inferences under s.34 CJPOA will be made if it was not reasonable to do so.

Inferences

A suspect has the right to remain silent, but if the suspect does so and then raises a defence at trial then adverse inferences can be made (s.34 CJPOA). Adverse inferences will not be made if the suspect then pleads guilty.
The court is entitled to infer that the defence raised at trial has been fabricated, withheld deliberately because of its weakness or because the defence does not refute the prosecution’s case.
Inferences can also be drawn from:
a failure to account for evidence found on them on arrest (s.36 CJPOA) such as blood splatter or weapons; and
a failure to account for presence at a particular place at the time of the offence (s.37 CJPOA)
However, no suspect can be convicted solely on adverse inferences under s.38 CJPOA.
The court will also not make adverse inferences if it was not reasonable to raise facts at the time.

Strength of Actual & Potential Evidence

Evidence
What makes it strong?
What makes it weak?
Weapons
Offensive weapon per se – e.g. knuckleduster
Adapted to be a weapon
Innocent items
Weapons found in a private residence (not public place)
Lawful authority or reasonable excuse
Victim/Witness Statements
Identifying your client as the perpetrator
Medical evidence
Uncooperative witnesses/victim
Medical records not revealed by victim
Do not clearly identify your client or confusion as to the persons involved
Witness statements supporting client’s claim
Possible stolen items (e.g. credit cards)
Reported stolen
Use of possible stolen item
No reports of stolen items
No use of possible stolen item
Mobile phone video footage
Identifying your client as the perpetrator
Clear images and sound
Fuzzy images which cannot be used to identify clients
Poor quality sound
Blood evidence/injuries to client
Blood matching the victims
Forensic analysis on injuries – self defence or not?
Defensive wounds
Own blood

Exam Questions

Analysis of Interview Options

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