Criminal law worksheet with answers

In England and Wales, which body decides on charges in most serious cases and conducts public prosecutions?

1. AThe Home Office
2. BThe Law Commission
3. CThe Crown Prosecution Service
4. DThe Magistrates' Association

In English law, a common assault (in the narrow sense) is committed when the defendant:

1. AActually applies unlawful force to the victim's body, however slight
2. BCauses the victim serious bodily harm
3. CDamages the victim's property
4. DCauses the victim to apprehend immediate unlawful force

An attempt to commit a crime means:

1. ATalking to a friend about a crime
2. BDoing more than merely preparatory acts with intent to commit the offence
3. CCommitting the full offence
4. DPlanning a crime in detail and buying the equipment needed later to commit it

D puts poison in V's drink intending to kill her, but V dies of an unrelated heart attack before the poison works. D is guilty of:

1. AMurder
2. BAttempted murder
3. CManslaughter
4. DNo offence at all

D drives on the pavement to escape a man who is threatening to kill him. The most suitable defence is:

1. ALoss of control
2. BDiminished responsibility
3. CConsent
4. DDuress of circumstances

D and V are playing a properly organised rugby match. D tackles V within the rules and V breaks a leg. D is most likely:

1. ALiable, because rugby is not a recognised sport
2. BLiable for battery, because consent is never a defence to serious bodily harm
3. CLiable for GBH, because a serious injury was caused
4. DNot liable, because players consent to injuries within the rules of the game

In R v Hinks (2000), the House of Lords held that:

1. AOnly shop thefts involve appropriation
2. BCivil law always decides criminal liability for theft
3. CA valid gift can never be theft because full ownership passes to the recipient at once
4. DReceiving a valid gift can be an appropriation, so it can be theft if dishonest

In "Thabo Meli v R", the defendants beat the victim, believed him dead and threw him off a cliff, where he died of exposure. The court held:

1. AThe defendants were guilty only of attempted murder
2. BThere was no murder because the mens rea existed only before the act that actually caused death
3. CThe victim's death was not caused by the defendants
4. DThe series of acts formed one transaction, so actus reus and mens rea coincided