Criminal Law Assignment: Case Studies and Legal Analysis

This document presents three criminal law case studies, each analyzed according to the provided assignment format. The first case explores constructive murder and manslaughter, examining the elements of each crime and applying them to a scenario involving a robbery and a subsequent death. The analysis considers the presence or absence of mens rea and actus reus, as well as the applicability of intoxication as a defense. The second case delves into assault, differentiating between common law and statutory aspects, and evaluating the actions of two colleagues in a workplace dispute. The analysis considers the role of mutual consent and bodily harm in determining whether an assault occurred. The final case examines the crime of rape and sexual assault, analyzing the elements of consent and intent in a scenario involving a couple. The analysis applies relevant sections of the law to determine whether the actions of the individuals constitute rape or sexual assault.

Running head- CRIMINAL LAW
Criminal law
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Case Study 1
Facts
 Richard went to a seven eleven store openly with a loaded gun.
 He waited in the store till everybody went to demand money from the attendant
 He found a girl hiding inside the store
 Richard threatened the young girl, Catherine, but she screamed and ran.
 Richard followed her while she was crossing the street.
 A passing car hit Catherine, and she was rushed to the hospital.
 Due to religious matters, she objected to the life-saving blood transfusion,
subsequently she dies.
Law
CONSTRUCTIVE MURDER- it is the Act where a person kills another through any act of
violence and aggression, such as any kind of armed robbery or an intensified robbery. Under
the section of 3A(1), it is defined that where any person causes the death of another person
without the intention to cause death by any act of violence or aggression in the course of the
continuance of the crime, then that person committing the crime shall be charged for
constructive murder with the conviction of level 1 detention (life) or to imprisonment for a
term of 10 years of more and shall be liable to be imprisoned of murder as the same way as
he would be punished for murder. The rule of law recognized as the felony-murder rule
where a person has involuntarily caused the demise of another by any act of aggression or
violence finished in the progression or continuance of a felony of viciousness is as a result of
this retracted.

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MANSLAUGHTER- is a kind of illegal homicide that does not extend to murder and can be
convicted by a maximum period of twenty- years. Three elements are required to fulfill the
conditions of manslaughter. These conditions are:
a. It shall be illegal or against the law, such as an assault, burglary, etc.
b. The act of the person shall cause the death.
c. The act constituted is hazardous and can impose a danger to the life of the person.
. While determining manslaughter, one has to keep in mind that the person accused
must be having reasonableness concerning the condition of the victim. In the case of
Manslaughter, Mens-Rea is absent, but Actus Reas has to be present.
Analysis
1a. To understand whether it was manslaughter and murder, the elements need to be
understood that constitute the crime. So it is clear that murder and manslaughter, although
concerned with death, though, are different. As for murder there shall be the presence of both
the actus rea and the mens reus shall be present. However, in the case of manslaughter, it
deals with the act and not the motive or the intention behind it. In the case of manslaughter, it
is nothing but causing the death of a person without the intention or motive of murdering or
causing death. Although in cases of Constructive murder, there is no requirement for the
mens rea to be present but the punishment imposed in this act is the same as in cases of
murder. Here, in this case, Richard never had the intention of causing death to Christina so it
cannot be termed as a murder, but for the absence of the intention or the mens rea, it shall fall
under the purview of constructive murder and manslaughter. All he did was threatened her to
stay quiet else he would shoot, and when she started running to escape, he chased her that
was a kind of threat imposed on the life of the young girl for which the whole incident
occurred. For a case to be sure, Manslaughter elements are required to be fulfilled. They are:

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a) Any act that is against the law
b) The act shall be the reason for the death of another person
c) The act shall be dangerous to that extent, where it can harm the life of another person.
So, in this case, all these elements were present. It all started with Richard when he made
Christina scared, and she was trying to escape, but while doing so, she was hit by a car, and
later she died. So to be clear, the chain of action started when Richard threatened Cristina,
pointing a rifle and ended with the death of Christina. So this fulfills the conditions of
manslaughter and with the fact that it was unintentional so it will fulfill the condition as per
provided in Section 3A(1).
1b. No, the answer would still be the same because if Richard had consumed half a bottle of
vodka a few hours before entering into the store and be in an intoxicated state, he would still
be considered to be a reasonable person. After all, the act itself required many technicalities
to be kept in mind. He waited for the customers to escape the store before demanding the
money to the attendant and not just demanded anyway, after he found out Christina hiding he
threatened her to shoot and not just shot her anyway. Intoxication is regarded as a defense for
those offenders who lose their reasonableness due to the intoxication.
Conclusion
It is likely that the accused would be found guilty and will be charged for
manslaughter and 3A(1) for killing the person without the intention because it is evident from
the facts of this case that he has committed the said crime.

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Case Study 2
Facts
 Garry and Scott are work colleagues who did not like each other.
 Scott threatened Garry regarding making private calls at the office
 Garry was a karate black-belt
 Scott threw a coffee mug at Garry’s foot.
 Garry challenged a boxing match, and Scott accepted.
 Garry fractured Scott’s front teeth, knocking him down.
Law
Common law Aspect
Assault comprises illegal involvement with a man and comprises both non-bodily
interventions that maybe some kind of force or threat and intervention using bodily power.
From ancient times, a common-law differentiation was made between an assault and a
battery. Generally, assault is considered as the threat and battery as the corporal interaction.
Now the word assault is used for covering both the threats of force and actual application of
force. Assault is a chargeable offense under both common laws as well as legislative
wrongdoing under section 23 of the Summary Offences Act 1966. Equally, these assaults are
the common assault, and the most severe assaults are the aggravated assaults those are much
more intensified. For assaults, including threats must possess the actus reus that is the act, and
there needs to be an act. For instance, Mr. J calls Mr. K and threatens by saying that Mr. J
will activate a volcano underneath the house of Mr. K if Mr. K goes out of the hose the next
day for the office. From this threat, one can easily make out the seriousness of the threat as
well as the intention behind the threat. So where there is no intention of real harm is
associated with a threat, it will not be considered as an assault. In order for the men's rea to be

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present, there needs any kind of intention or motive involved behind the act. Where Mr. J has
the intention to generate a fear of instantaneous and illegal conduct in the mind of Mr. Kor
could anticipate the risk that Mr. K would apprehend instant and illegal personal aggression.
Statutory aspect
The maximum punishment is detention up to 20 years for instigating severe injury
deliberately, as mentioned under section 16 of the Crimes Act. According to section 17 of the
Crimes Act, instigating severe wounds irresponsibly and rendering to section 24 of the
Crimes Act, causing severe damage neglectfully. Injury means bodily hurt or damage to
mental wellbeing, whether transitory or unending. Grave injury means any damage that
jeopardizes life or is substantial and lasting.
Analysis
2a. In order to find out Whether Garry and Scott committed assault or not, we need to analyze
the facts along with the statutes. Garry and Scoot were work colleagues and possessed hatred
for each other, and subsequently, there arise some issue where Scott threw the cup of coffee
at Gary’s foot. The boxing match was contested by both of them, and they planned to start up
the match. The boxing match lasted for 4minutes, and Scott’s front teeth were fractured and
were knocked down. So it is clear from all these facts that there was mutual consent for the
fight. Moreover, as a general rule, we know where the victim gives consent; it no more falls
under the ambit of assault.
Now there is an exception to that general rule. It states the following:
I. Consent needs are spontaneously decided and not built upon any kind of force.
II. The consent of the victim can not be used as a defense where there is any action
involved in order to injure another person physically.

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So what we get from the above statue is if the injury is minimal and does not come
under the scope of bodily harm then in such case it will not be considered as an assault, but if
the injury is significant and falls under the scope of bodily harm, then it shall be considered to
be an assault. Now concerning our case, the injury caused by Garry to Scott has to be
considered. Fracture of front teeth may be considered to be a bodily injury. If so, then Garry
would be charged with assault. But Scott cannot be charged for assault because the threat he
made was not backed by intention of doing any harm to Garry and Garry never took the
threat seriously.
2b. Defense of consent shall not be applicable for Gary's case as there was a bodily injury to
Scott. Moreover, the contest was the idea of both of them, so it was with their contest to
conduct the match, but the consent was not upon causing physical injury. So clearly Gary’s
action has caused an injury to Scott for which he shall not get the defence of consent
Conclusion
Garry would likely be found guilty of the charge assault because it is evident from the
facts that he has fractured the front teeth of Scott, and fracturing front teeth is considered to
be a bodily injury usually. Additionally, he will not get the defense of consent as there was
bodily injury made to Scott by his act.
Case Study 3
Facts
 Clare and Dylan knew each other, and one night they shared wine where Clare gets
very drunk and agrees to have sex with Dylan.
 Later Clare regrets her actions and decides never to repeat it.

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 In another party where both Dylan and Clare were present, she was drunk and slapped
Dylan for pinching her at the bottom and stated her disinterest in Dylan.
 Both of them were very drunk, and Dylan proposes a condition upon Clare to
recommend her name to the company where he works in return for sex.
 Clare decides upon the proposal of Dylan and not upon her intention to do so.
 However, Clare refused to continue the act.
 Dylan ignored her and screamed upon her.
 When Dylan left, Clare called the police.
Law
Rape- Under Section 38, where a person commits a rate, he shall be charged with maximum
sanction for the imprisonment of not more than 25 years. In order to analyze the elements for
a case to fall under the purview of rape case few elements are required to be fullied
I. The intention shall be present by a person in order to sexually penetrate another
person.
II. There shall be no consent of the act from the other person
III. The person committing rape does not reasonably believe that there was the presence
of consent by the other person.
Sexual Assault- Under section 40, it is defined that whenever a person conducts this offense
by sexually touching another person without the consent of the other person. Such a person
committing the offense shall be punished with an imprisonment of not more than ten years.
Certain elements required to be fulfilled in order to come under the purview of Sexual
offense. These elements are:
I. A person intentionally touches another person
II. The touch shall be sensual

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III. The other person does not consent to such touch
IV. The person committing the offense does not believe reasonably that the other person
consents to such an act.
Touching can be defined in various ways. Under the definition provided under
Section 37E, it is stated that touching is sexual when the area that is toughed or used in
touching contains the genital and the anal areas of a body. This also includes the act where a
person imposes such touch through the intervention of another person.
In order to determine the 4 stage process to determine the commission of rape, the
following elements shall be necessary:
I. There shall be a sexual penetration with the intention of the person who is committing
the offense
II. Was the consent of the other person is present. In case of the absence of the consent, it
shall constitute rape
III. It shall be necessary for the person committing rape to reasonably believe that the
other person had given the consent
IV. The circumstance is revolving around the decision for the consent.
The judge needs to determine the factors in order to determine the consent and the
commission of rape. It is clear that where the person had initially given their consent but later
withdrew in that case from that point onward, it shall cease to exist hence making the consent
void.
Analysis
3a. In order to analyze the fact that whether Dylan has committed the offense of rape and
other sexual offenses, it is essential to understand the constituents of committing such
offense.

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In order to analyze whether Dylan has committed any sexual offense, his acts must
fulfill the elements for sexual assault. As per the law, his act constituted the commission of
the sexual offense as his touch was sexual. His touch was at such a portion of the body that
shall not be touched in any way without the consent of another person. Here it was evident
that there was no consent from Clare to touch her at that place for which she refracted his
action by slapping him. It signifies that he did commit sexual assault against Clare.
Following the 4 step process, the first step was fulfilled as there was sexual
penetration, and Dylan had the intention to do so. The second step was also fulfilled as it was
clear that there was no consent from the side of Clare, as she refused to continue the act with
Dylan. So refusal shall not constitute the consent even before the act. For the third stage to be
fulfilled, it was necessary for the person to reasonably believe that Clare has given the
consent to the act. However, in this case, both were drunk that does not constitute
reasonableness. So this stage also fulfills as there an absence by Dylan to believe that she had
given her consent reasonably. The fourth stage also fulfills as upon his promise, Clare agreed
to initiate the act but had no intention to do so. Hence it is evident from the facts that Dylan
has committed rape.
Conclusion
Therefore from the above facts, it is clear that Dylan has committed the crime of
sexual assault and rape and shall be charged under the provision of Section 38 and 40 of the
Act.