LAW1040C Criminal Law 1 Foundations | University of Exeter

Section 1

Section 1 counts for 25% of the final module mark. 

1. A man boarded a bus in the Wythenshawe area of Manchester with a large bag which had a crossbow in it. Armed Police surrounded the bus and all the passengers were told to disembark before the man was arrested. It was only then that the passengers learned that the man had a crossbow on the bus. Would your answer be different if the man had unzipped the bag on the bus and taken the crossbow out and the passengers had seen the crossbow? 

2. The singer Lily Allen was stalked for 7 years by a man Alex Gray. He sent her hundreds of letters and tweets, including threats to kill her and her children. He was eventually convicted 

of offences of harassment and burglary. During this time Lily Allen did not know what he looked like, or his name. He was not charged in relation to many incidents during the 7 year period. Please consider whether he should be charged with assault in relation to the following incident Lily Allen explained in an interview 'When I arrived home, my handbag was on the bonnet of my car outside my house. Burnt. Everything pulled out and cut up or burned and the bag burned.' This took place in the 6th year of his harassment of the singer and a week after he had broken into her home and stolen her handbag. 

3. Valeria is a trainee solicitor in a large commercial firm based in London. She joined the firm nine months ago. One night when she is working late, a partner in the law firm starts to talk to her when she is sitting in an armchair, taking a short break in the staff lounge. The partner says that they are very tired having just completed a large sale of a company. The partner says that they are so tired they are going to need to sit down and sits down on Valeria's lap. They sit there for a few minutes talking about the deal and then get up and leave the room, having told Valeria not to work too late. a. Is the evidential test satisfied for a charge of battery in relation to the incident? 

b. Would it make any difference to your decision if Valeria had suggested that the partner rest by sitting on her lap the week before? 

4. Delilah has two children aged 5 and 7. On day the children are playing with Delilah's work laptop. One of them drops their drink onto the laptop. Delilah is very angry with them and decides to punish them. She hits each of them 3 times on the back of their legs. This leaves reddening of their skin which disappears within a few hours. a. Is the evidential test satisfied ? For a charge of either assault or battery in relation to the incident? 

b. Would your answer be different if Delilah had hit her children on the back of their legs with a wooden spoon? 

c. Would your answer be different if the children had bruising which lasted for several days on their legs?

Section 2

Section 2 counts for 75% of the final module mark.

Some of these events are based on the infected blood scandal. The infected blood scandal is widely regarded as the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS. From the 1970s until 1991, up to 30,000 people in the UK were given blood infected with HIV and hepatitis. This took place when the UK bought blood products from the US for the treatment of inherited diseases such as Haemophilia and for blood transfusions. Very many of these blood products were infected with other diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis. If you would like to know further information, the report of the public inquiry was presented to Parliament on 20th May 2024 and may be found by following the link along with some shorter explanations of events here.

In hospital Versha needed a blood transfusion following the birth of her daughter. Didi, a nurse, came to set up the machine for the blood transfusion to be given to Versha.  Before agreeing to a blood transfusion Versha asked Didi whether the blood that she was going to be given could be infected with any disease.

Didi told Versha that there was no chance that the blood was infected as it was 'heat treated' to destroy any viruses. Didi really believed that the chance of infection was very low rather than that there was no chance of infection. Versha then agreed to the transfusion.

Actually the blood was infected with the Hepatitis B virus. The virus causes Hepatitis B disease which is an infection of the liver. Versha contracted the disease Hepatitis B as a result of the blood transfusion. Versha says that she would never have agreed to the blood transfusion if Didi had not told her that the blood was safe. 

Vincent was a schoolboy aged 10 undergoing treatment for the blood clotting disorder Haemophilia. (Haemophilia is a rare genetic disorder in which the blood fails to clot, meaning that small injuries can result in dangerous blood loss.) His parents had consented to his treatment for Haemophilia using 'Factor 9' a treatment drug made from blood products. 'Factor 8' and 'Factor 9' are treatment drugs which transformed the life expectancy of people who have Haemophilia by enabling blood to clot. 

Daphne, the doctor in charge of his treatment knew that some of the 'Factor 9' that the hospital was using was infected with the HIV virus. Daphne believed that 'Factor 9' was a wonder drug and a break-through in treatment of haemophilia and that it would save Vincent's life. Daphne decided that the 'Factor 9' treatment was 'worth the risk' of HIV. She did not tell Vincent or his parents of the risk that 'Factor 9' was infected. 

Vincent contracted HIV from his treatment. He died aged 12. Both HIV and Haemophilia were listed as causes of his death. A study of patients with Haemophilia at the time found that 6.5% of patients with only Haemophilia died, whereas 65% of patients with both Haemophilia and HIV died.

Daniel a hospital porter found out that Daphne had not told patients that blood products could be infected with other diseases. Daniel was addicted to Fentanyl (a powerful painkiller which is also a highly addictive street drug). He confronted Daphne. Daniel threatened Daphne that unless she gave him Fentanyl lozenges from the hospital dispensary he would tell her patients. When Daphne refused, he said that he knew where she lived and that he would visit her home and hurt her family unless she gave him Fentanyl lozenges every week. Daphne agreed and handed him a box of 100 Fentanyl lozenges. Daniel overdosed on Fentanyl and fell into a coma at work. Daphne discovered him unconscious but was afraid that she would be linked with him if she raised the alarm and questions would be raised about how he had obtained Fentanyl from the hospital dispensary. Daphne does not call for help and leaves Daniel alone. Daniel dies. 

Consider the liability of Didi and Daphne for non-fatal offences against the person and /or homicide under the criminal law of England and Wales arising from the following events.

You should consider any possible fatal and non-fatal offences against the person that might have been committed along with any relevant defences.

You should not consider any other offences which do not relate to fatal or non-fatal offences against the person, for example of theft.

You may consider other offences, for example supply, if they could be part of the construction of liability for a fatal or non-fatal offence against the person.

YOU SHOULD ENSURE THE FOLLOWING FOR 

BOTH SECTIONS 1 AND 2:

a. Anonymity.

Every assignment script is marked anonymously. This is to ensure that marking is free from bias or prejudice. Please do not disclose your name on your essay script.

b. Word Limit.

Section 1 must not be more than 900 words (excluding footnotes and bibliography).

Section 2 must not be more than 1500 words (excluding footnotes and bibliography). 

The number of words used must be stated on the front of each piece. Inaccuracy in stating the number of words used, if more than trivial, may be considered as intentionally misleading and result in university disciplinary proceedings. 

Marks will be deducted for failure to comply with this requirement as follows: for up to and including 5% beyond the word limit, up to a band (4 marks) will be deducted (i.e. 58 to 55 or 62 to 58); for over 5% beyond the word limit, up to 3 bands(10 marks) will be deducted (i.e. 58 to 48, 55 to 45).

c. Referencing, Typeface and Font. 

You are welcome to use any typeface and font which is reasonable and legible. Where relevant you must use OSCOLA referencing, a quick guide is at the end of this document for further information please find the full version here.