W201 - Tutorial Seven

Activity 1

Discuss the constitutional basis for judicial review.

Activity 2

Discuss the extent to which the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 has improved the likelihood of successful prosecutions against corporations which cause death.

Consider how you might approach an answer to the question above, consider in particular:

  1. Under the previous law what would the prosecution have had to prove to secure a conviction for manslaughter by gross negligence?
  1. Can you identify any cases where the identification principle led to the failure of prosecutions against large corporations?
  1. What is the position in relation to the culpability of individual directors of corporations?

Activity 3

Sandra and Wendy plan to rob Geraldine, an elderly lady. They agree that she will be tied up and gagged to stop her crying out. They agree that only a minimum amount of violence should be used, and that on no account should Geraldine be seriously injured. Consequently Geraldine is bound and gagged by Sandra. Geraldine dies.

Discuss the liability of Sandra and Wendy.

a)Assuming Sandra accidentally tied the gag too tightly and Geraldine’s death resulted from suffocation what would be the charge against her.

b)What is the actus reus of an accomplice?

c)How is that actus reus established on the facts

d)What is the mens rea of an accomplice

e)What if Wendy secretly wanted Geraldine to die?

f)If Geraldine died because, unknown to Wendy, Sandra hit Geraldine over the head with a spanner would Wendy be accomplice to:

  1. Murder?
  2. Manslaughter

g)If Geraldine’s death resulted from suffocation because Sandra deliberately tied the gag too tightly knowing that Geraldine suffered from a severe breathing disorder, would Wendy be an accomplice to Geraldine’s death?

Activity 4 - Theft

Appropriation

Which of the following would amount to an appropriation of John's bike by Joanna?
Answer / A. Riding it.
B. Offering the bike for sale.
C. Agreeing to lend the bike to Frank.
D. Accepting the bike as a gift.
E. Throwing the bike on to a skip.

Dishonesty

Ask the students to consider the following scenarios:

a)Jane shares a flat with Kelvin – a bailiff has come to the flat in relation to Jane’s late payment on her tv rental. She does not have the £50 on her to pay the bailiff but sees that there is £50 in the housekeeping jar which she and Kelvin pool. She gives the bailiff the money.

b)Hasan lends Marek a CD. Three months later Marek has not returned the CD. When Hasan is visiting Marek and his family he sees his CD on a shelf. He takes it.

c)The same as above but in fact it is not his CD but a further copy owned by Marek’s sister.

d)Mary likes her sister’s vintage dress which she wants to customise. Her sister has refused to let her borrow the dress which she bought for £50 at a market stall. One evening Mary decides to borrow it to go to a party - she cuts off the bottom of the dress to make it a more fashionable length and leaves her sister £50 in an envelope by way of compensation.

e)Saira is a strict vegan and an activist for animal welfare. At a service station she sees a lorry loaded with veal calves which she believes to be on their way from a farm to be slaughtered. She releases them.

Activity 5

Louis is an interior designer. He and Roberta are finalists in the National Interior Design Awards and have each been provided with an identical room and budget for their design. They are only permitted to be in their own rooms and the common parts of the building until the unveiling of the rooms on the day of the final.

The night before the final Louis is passing by Roberta’s door and sees her design which he thinks looks much better than his. He decides to go back to his room and wait until everyone has gone home so that he can remove a chandelier which is central to Roberta’s themed room.

He gets into Roberta’s room, which is not locked, and removes the chandelier. He is putting it into a large cardboard box when Roberta returns having forgotten her mobile phone. Roberta screams and Louis panics and runs past her grabbing her mobile phone so she cannot call the authorities. Roberta staggers backward and hits her head on a coffee table knocking herself unconscious. Louis flees, leaving the chandelier behind.

Consider Louis’s liability

ACTIVITY 6

George is late for a meeting. He calls into the local petrol station and fills his car with petrol. He does not have his wallet with him, and drives off without paying for the petrol.

What liability will George have in the following circumstances?

a)He has a grudge against the owner of the petrol station and had never intended to pay for the petrol.

b)He realised before putting the petrol in the car that he could not pay but intended to come back after the meeting.

c)He spoke to the owner of the petrol station and falsely said that the bill would be met by his employer at the end of the month.

Exercise 2

Leanne has a laptop and knows that her neighbour has wireless broadband which she can pick up even within her property. She decides to “piggy-back” on her friend’s wireless connection.