联系我们： 手动添加方式: 微信>添加朋友>企业微信联系人>13262280223 或者 QQ: 1483266981

1.“The common law of murder has largely escaped statutory reform in England and Wales. In recent years, attention has focused instead on reforming partial defences to murder. Important and necessary as this exercise proved to be, it did nothing to address the crucial question of the degree of fault that differentiates murder from manslaughter in the first place. In that respect the law continues to reflect the values of a bygone era, and change is long overdue.”

Discuss.

2.Jonathan works at a fairground and is responsible for operating a ride called “The Mindflayer”. The ride rotates at speed, and there is a minimum height requirement for the riders to prevent them from slipping through the safety bars and being flung out. Dustin, a 12-year-old boy who is shorter than his friends, realises that he will be turned away, so he persuades his friend Mike to cause a distraction so that Dustin can slip past the ticket booth where the height check takes place.

Dustin and Mike take their seats on the ride. Jonathan notices that Dustin is shorter than all the other riders but assumes his height has been checked. He presses the button to start the first, slow, phase of the ride. Jonathan is supposed to watch the riders constantly, and to stop the ride if anyone gets into difficulty. On this occasion, because he has a heavy cold, Jonathan reaches for his rucksack which is between his feet, rummaging for aspirin and tissues. He fails to notice that Dustin has slipped down under his safety bar and is in danger. The ride automatically accelerates to a faster phase and Dustin is thrown out. Dustin dies from his injuries.

Another fairground attraction, the Hall of Mirrors, is a particular favourite of the older customers who like to walk past the mirrors in which their reflections are distorted, and to laugh at one another. Hopper, a regular customer, also takes an unkind delight in commenting on the appearance of Yuri, who takes the money at the entrance of the attraction, and who has a facial disfigurement. Hopper likes to say that Yuri’s reflection in the mirrors would look better than in real life. One evening, Yuri’s resentment boils over and he places a banana skin on the floor of the Hall when he sees Hopper coming, reasoning that Hopper’s attention will be on the mirrors and that he will slip over on the skin and land on his bottom, giving Yuri the chance to laugh at Hopper’s expense for a change. Unfortunately, when Hopper slips on the skin his foot comes into contact with one of the mirrors which breaks into jagged pieces, one of which severs an artery in Hopper’s leg. Hopper is rushed to hospital, where surgeons save his leg, but he develops a respiratory infection which necessitates the insertion of a tube to assist Hopper to breathe. Robin, an inexperienced doctor who is responsible for Hopper’s care while he recuperates, fails to notice that the tube has become blocked, and Hopper chokes to death.

Discuss, commenting critically on the law you have applied.

3.“In Setting the Boundaries (Home Office, 2000) there was a recommendation that obtaining sexual penetration by threats or deception should be a specific offence, applicable where the deception involved was of a lower level or a different kind than in situations where consent could be said to be absent. This was never enacted, so that the question of whether such a deception triggers criminal liability is now inextricably linked to the question of whether it bears on consent. This leaves a serious gap in the law whereby conduct which is clearly wrong and unacceptable goes unpunished.”

Discuss with reference to the provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. What reforms, if any, would you suggest?

4.Owing to the rising cost of living, housemates Aaron, Beth and Carl are struggling to make ends meet. To ensure that they have enough to cover their portion of the rent, each housemate individually comes up with their own plan to make some extra cash before the end of the month.

Aaron’s grandmother, Goldie, has been boasting about how she wins big at bingo every week. Aaron decides to visit the bingo hall with her, thinking to himself “Surely, with my quick reflexes, I can beat a bunch of old folks!” To cover the entry fee, he takes
￡20 from his mother, Diandra’s, wallet, intending to repay it from his winnings. Unfortunately, today is not Aaron’s lucky day as none of his numbers are coming up. Aaron notices that the bingo caller is not checking the winning cards very closely. In the final round of the day, when number ‘23’ gets called out, Aaron marks off number ‘22’ instead. “Bingo!” He shouts. “That’s my number! I’ve won!” Aaron quickly shows his card to the bingo caller, who gives it a cursory glance before giving him his prize of ￡100 and a hamper of knitting yarn. Aaron, who has no interest in knitting, tells Goldie that the yarn is for her, and she is delighted. On his way home, Aaron puts ￡20 from his winnings back in his Mum’s wallet.

Beth decides to make some money selling her clothes second-hand on the internet. While browsing Depop, she notices that signed concert shirts are selling for at least
￡100. Beth remembers that she left her Ed Sheeran shirt at the house belonging to Fred, her ex-boyfriend. That weekend, when she is invited to Fred’s house for a party, she asks him about it and discovers that Fred is convinced that Beth already took all of her possessions and that the shirt is not in the house. Beth sneaks upstairs and finds her shirt lying forgotten under Fred’s bed. She takes the shirt home and fakes Ed Sheeran’s signature. The “authentic concert shirt signed by Ed Sheeran” sells for
￡150 online.

Hal, Carl’s stepfather, frequently boasts about an expensive replica sword he owns. Carl decides to take Hal’s sword and sell it to cover his rent. Hal has given Carl a key to his house and one night Carl lets himself in, wearing a scarf around his face so that he will not be recognised. However, as he is looking for the sword, he is discovered by his step-sister Ellie, Hal’s daughter, who is staying with Hal. Panicked, Ellie runs to the sword and grabs it, brandishing it at Carl. “Get out or I’ll stab you!” she shouts. As Carl lunges at Ellie, attempting to grab the sword, Ellie swings the blade towards him and Carl runs on to it, slicing open his stomach. Carl dies shortly after. When interviewed by the police, Ellie says, “It all happened so fast. I didn’t mean to kill Carl
– I thought he was a burglar and I only wanted to scare him so he’d leave.”

Discuss the criminal liability of all potential defendants, commenting critically on the law you have applied.

LAWW2014-E1

5.To celebrate Mirabel’s birthday, her family throw a surprise party at their home which is owned by Alma, Mirabel’s grandmother. Mirabel does not drink so her mother, Julieta, makes sure that there is both non-alcoholic and alcoholic punch available. Isabela is responsible for serving the drinks to the guests. However, she is angry with Mirabel for making fun of her for having a boyfriend, so when Mirabel asks her for a drink, she gives her the alcoholic punch instead, intending her to get drunk and make a fool of herself in front of the family. Mirabel drinks the punch not knowing that Isabela has tricked her and, being unused to alcohol, feels its effects quickly. She starts dancing erratically and singing wildly. Alma sees her and is embarrassed by her behaviour, so she leads Mirabel towards the garden door so she can calm down. Mirabel, enraged that Alma has stopped her dancing, angrily pushes Alma into the doorframe, causing a minor cut above her eye and bruising to her face.

Felix, Mirabel’s uncle, is getting some fresh air in the garden after drinking a lot of Julieta’s alcoholic punch, intending to try and sober up. A female figure walks by and, believing it to be his wife, Pepa, he goes up behind her intending to scare her as a joke. However, it is Pepa’s sister, Dolores, who is frightened by Felix, thinking that he is going to hurt her. She screams in fear. On hearing the scream, Luisa, who has also been drinking the alcoholic punch as she has been working very hard recently and wanted to relax, runs outside from the party. Believing Dolores is in danger, she grabs Felix’s arm and twists it behind his back, breaking a bone and dislocating his shoulder. Luisa later explains that she underestimated her own strength.

Back in the house, Pepa and Bruno, Mirabel’s uncle who is also a guest at the party, are watching everyone dance. Bruno suffers from delusions and has also been drinking heavily all week. However, he has not drunk any alcohol at the party after making a promise to Alma to stay sober. He thinks the people on the dancefloor are demons who have come to try and ruin the party and hurt everyone. Pepa sees that he has become agitated and asks him what is wrong. Bruno tells her about the demons, but she does not believe him, and accuses him of being drunk. He decides to take matters into his own hands, so he grabs a candle from the window and sets fire to the curtains, intending to burn the house down so the demons will leave. Luckily, Pepa notices and puts the fire out before it can spread further.

Discuss, commenting critically on the law you have applied.

How, if at all, would your answer differ if the ONLY cause of Bruno’s delusions was that he was suffering from alcohol withdrawal, having stopped drinking a few days before the party?

LAWW2014-E1

6.(a) “The ideal model for both duress and duress of circumstances is the one already applicable to self-defence: D should be allowed to take any action that is reasonable (that is to say, not disproportionate) for a person to take when placed in the circumstances that D genuinely believes to exist. To require more than that is to set an unreasonably high standard for which there is no justification.”

Discuss.

(b) A terrorist takes over a train heading towards a busy London station, and he announces his intention of crashing it at speed into the buffers on the platform, causing the deaths of many passengers and others using the station, as well as causing significant damage to the station itself. Jake, a signalman, has the only chance to divert the train: into a siding in a remote area where the tracks are being repaired. This action will derail the train, and it is certain that some passengers will die, together with the workmen fixing the track as there is no time to warn them.

Consider the criminal liability of Jake for deaths caused by diverting the train into the siding, commenting critically on the law you have applied.

7.Fagin is the leader of a group of criminals who commit offences when he tells them to do so. But things do not always go as planned.

Fagin tells Twist, an accomplished pick-pocket, to take a wallet belonging to Monks. He tells Twist he has chosen him for the task because Twist is such a master of the art that Monks will never know who has lifted the wallet from his back pocket. Twist decides that he cannot be bothered to follow Monks around in the hope of catching him off-guard. He confronts Monks, holds a knife to his throat and demands “Your wallet or your life!”. Monks holds out his wallet. Twist takes it, but then Monks tries to kick Twist’s legs out from under him. Enraged, Twist stabs Monks in the neck. Monks bleeds to death.

Fagin tells Dodger to break the leg of Sikes to punish him for leaving the gang. He wants Sikes to know that the reason for his injury is his disloyalty to Fagin. Dodger is as afraid of Sikes as he is of Fagin, so he decides on a different strategy. Knowing that his Sunday soccer team is due to play a game against Sikes’ team, he deliberately targets Sikes with a sliding tackle, smiling to himself when he hears Sikes’ leg-bone crack. Dodger then pretends to Sikes that it was an accident, apologises profusely, and takes Sikes to hospital.

Fagin pays Charley to humiliate Bumble during the interval of a theatrical production by slapping him in the face in front of Rose, Bumble’s girlfriend. Charley discovers that, unknown to Fagin, Bumble is a masochist who has a fantasy about being humiliated by a public slapping. He phones Bumble and offers to slap him at the interval. Bumble is delighted at the prospect and pays Charley to do so. Charley gives Bumble a couple of hard slaps and is contemplating a third when he is interrupted by Rose, who is unaware of Bumble’s agreement. Rose knees Charley in the groin, causing severe bruising.

(Question continued on next page

LAWW2014-E1

Fagin instructs Nancy, who works in a bar, to add alcohol to the soft drink of Agnes, a regular customer who is also a serving police officer. Fagin aims to get Agnes dismissed from her job, as she has been instrumental in thwarting some of his criminal plans. Nancy adds a large measure of vodka to a drink that Agnes orders, but is appalled when she sees that Agnes has bought the drink for Sally, Nancy’s friend, who has just passed her driving test and purchased her first car. Nancy says nothing. Sally is breathalysed on her way home and is later convicted of drink-driving.

Discuss, commenting critically on the law you have applied.