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Battery (crime)
Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault, which is the act of creating reasonable fear or apprehension of such contact. Battery is a specific common law offense, although the term is used more generally to refer to any unlawful offensive physical contact with another person. Battery is defined by American common law as "any unlawful and/or unwanted touching of the person of another by the aggressor, or by a substance put in motion by them". In more severe cases, and for all types in some jurisdictions, it is chiefly defined by statutory wording. Assessment of the severity of a battery is determined by local law. Generally Specific rules regarding battery vary among different jurisdictions, but some elements remain constant across jurisdictions. Battery generally requires that: # an offensive touch or contact is made upon the victim, instigated by the actor; and # the actor intends or knows that their action will cause the offen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Offence (law)
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Cane and Conoghan (editors), '' The New Oxford Companion to Law'', Oxford University Press, 2008 (), p. 263Google Books). though statutory definitions have been provided for certain purposes. The most popular view is that crime is a category created by law; in other words, something is a crime if declared as such by the relevant and applicable law. One proposed definition is that a crime or offence (or criminal offence) is an act harmful not only to some individual but also to a community, society, or the state ("a public wrong"). Such acts are forbidden and punishable by law. The notion that acts such as murder, rape, and theft are to be prohibited exists worldwide. What precisely is a criminal offence is defined by the criminal law of each r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serious Crime Act 2015
The Serious Crime Act 2015 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Introduced in June 2014 as part of the Queen's Speech opening the 2014-15 session of Parliament, the Bill was sponsored by the Home Office. It was passed by Parliament on 2 March 2015, and received royal assent on 3 March 2015. The Bill proceeding the Act proposed a ' Cinderella Law' to outlaw causing emotional distress of children, regulate corrupt accountants and other businesses who assist criminal gangs, regulate 'drug cutting agents', Home Office and deal with offences related to |
Duress In English Law
Duress in English law is a complete common law defence, operating in favour of those who commit crimes because they are forced or compelled to do so by the circumstances, or the threats of another. The doctrine arises not only in criminal law but also in civil law, where it is relevant to contract law and trusts law. Contract law Duress involves illegitimate threats. The common law long allowed a claim if duress was of a physical nature. So long as a threat is just one of the reasons a person enters an agreement, even if not the main reason, the agreement may be avoided. In '' Barton v Armstrong'' Mr Armstrong tried to "strong-arm" Mr Barton into paying him a large golden parachute to exit a business by getting his goons to make death threats to Barton's family. Even though Barton was tough, and would have probably done the payout regardless, he could avoid the agreement. Only late in the 20th century was escape allowed if the threat involved illegitimate economic harm. A thre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prevention Of Crime Act 1953
The Prevention of Crime Act 1953 (1 & 2 Eliz. 2. c. 14) is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that restricts the carrying of offensive weapons in public. The Act was passed in response to the large rise in violent crime in the United Kingdom, with 800 cases of armed robbery, assault with intent to rob or robbery with violence and 4,445 cases of malicious wounding in 1951 (the last year up to that point with such statistics) while many of these crimes did not include the use of weapons there were calls from politicians, police officers and members of the public for new laws to combat the problem by restricting civilian weapons. Prior to the act it was not a crime to carry a weapon in a public place for offensive or defensive purposes (though carrying or using a weapon during the commission of a crime would earn a greater punishment) unless it was a firearm or imitation firearm. The Prevention of Crime Act was created under the pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Self-defense
Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of Force (law), force in times of danger is available in many jurisdictions. Physical Physical self-defense is using physical force to counter an immediate threat of violence. Such force can be either armed or unarmed. In either case, the chances of success depend on various parameters, related to the severity of the threat on one hand, but also on the mental and physical preparedness of the defender. Unarmed Many martial arts styles are practiced for self-defense or include self-defense techniques. Some styles train primarily for self-defense, while other combat sports can be effectively applied for self-defense. Some martial arts teach how to escape from a knife or gun situation or how to break away from a punch, while others teach how to attack. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standard Scale
The standard scale is a system in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth law whereby financial Criminal law, criminal penalties (Fine (penalty), fines) in legislation have maximum levels set against a standard scale. Then, when inflation makes it necessary to increase the levels of the fines the legislators need to modify only the scale rather than every individual piece of legislation. In English law, the reference in legislation will typically appear as: Legislation and level of fines Australia In Australia, the monetary fines for a breach of law is determined by however many penalty units the offence is worth, times the value of that jurisdiction's penalty unit. All states and territories set their own penalty unit values, which is supplemented by the federal penalty unit for federal offences. Channel Islands Guernsey Guernsey uses the UK standard scale for adopted UK legislation, and its own scale (called the uniform scale) for legislation originating in the States o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Actual Bodily Harm
Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (often abbreviated to Assault OABH, AOABH or simply ABH) is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Hong Kong and the Solomon Islands. It has been abolished in Ireland and South Australia, but replaced with a similar offence. Australia Anything interfering with the health or comfort of victim which is more than merely transient or trifling has been held by Australian courts to be "actual bodily harm". Australian Capital Territory The offence is created by section 24(1) of the Crimes Act 1900. New South Wales The offence is created by section 59(1) of the Crimes Act 1900 (a different statute of the same name). South Australia Assault occasioning actual bodily harm was formerly an offence under section 40 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935, but has been abolished and replaced with a similar offence (see below). Hong Kong The offence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crown Court
The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is one of three Senior Courts of England and Wales. The Crown Court sits in around 92 List of Crown Court venues in England and Wales, locations in England and Wales, divided into Circuits of England and Wales, Circuits. When sitting in the City of London, it is known as the Central Criminal Court (England and Wales), Central Criminal Court or "Old Bailey". The Crown Court is administered by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), Ministry of Justice. History England and Wales formerly used a system of courts of assizes, assize and court of quarter sessions, quarter sessions for indictment trials at first instance. However, the Beeching C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indictable Offence
In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is a '' prima facie'' case to answer or by a grand jury (in contrast to a summary offence). A similar concept in the United States is known as a felony, which for federal crimes, also requires an indictment. In Scotland, which is a hybrid common law jurisdiction, the procurator fiscal will commence solemn proceedings for serious crimes to be prosecuted on indictment before a jury. Australia In Australia, an indictable offence is more serious than a summary offence, and one where the defendant has the right to trial by jury. They include crimes such as murder, rape, and threatening or endangering life. The system is underpinned by various state and territory acts and the '' Commonwealth Crimes Act 1914'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indictment
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indictable offence, which is an offence that requires an indictment. Australia Section 80 of the Constitution of Australia provides that "the trial on indictment of any offence against any law of the Commonwealth shall be by jury". The High Court of Australia has consistently used a narrow interpretation of this clause, allowing the Parliament of Australia to define which offences proceed on indictment rather than conferring a universal right to a jury trial. Section 4G of the '' Crimes Act 1914'' provides that "offences against a law of the Commonwealth punishable by imprisonment for a period exceeding 12 months are indictable offences, unless the contrary intention appears". Canada A direct indictment is one in which the case is sent dir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Summary Offence
A summary offence or petty offence is a violation in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment (required for an indictable offence). Canada In Canada, summary offences are referred to as summary conviction offences. As in other jurisdictions, summary conviction offences are considered less serious than indictable offences because they are punishable by shorter prison sentences and smaller fines. These offences appear both in the federal laws of Canada and in the legislation of Canada's provinces and territories. For summary conviction offences that fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government (including all criminal law), section 787 of the Criminal Code specifies that, unless another punishment is provided for by law, the maximum penalty for a summary conviction offence is a sentence of 2 years less a day of imprisonment, a fine of $5,000 or both. As a matter of practical effect, some co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Obiter
''Obiter dictum'' (usually used in the plural, ''obiter dicta'') is a Latin phrase meaning "said in passing",''Black's Law Dictionary'', p. 967 (5th ed. 1979). that is, any remark in a legal opinion that is "said in passing" by a judge or arbitrator. It is a concept derived from English common law, whereby a judgment comprises only two elements: ''ratio decidendi'' and ''obiter dicta''. For the purposes of judicial precedent, ''ratio decidendi'' is binding, whereas ''obiter dicta'' are persuasive only. Significance A judicial statement can be ''ratio decidendi'' only if it refers to the crucial facts and law of the case. Statements that are not crucial, or which refer to hypothetical facts or to unrelated law issues, are ''obiter dicta''. ''Obiter dicta'' (often simply '' dicta'', or ''obiter'') are remarks or observations made by a judge that, although included in the body of the court's opinion, do not form a necessary part of the court's decision. In a court opinion, ''obiter d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
