Criminal law worksheet with answers

Free printable Criminal law worksheet: 8 problems from easy to exam level, with an answer key. Print it or save it as a PDF.

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Name: ____________________   Date: ____________

1.Easy

Mens rea refers to:

  1. AThe victim's state of mind
  2. BThe mental element of a crime
  3. CThe physical act of a crime
  4. DThe punishment for a crime
2.Easy

Which is the difference between theft and robbery in English law?

  1. ARobbery involves only cars
  2. BTheft is always more serious than robbery
  3. CRobbery is theft accompanied by force or the threat of force
  4. DRobbery does not require taking property
3.Easy

Under section 4 of the Theft Act 1968, which of these cannot normally be stolen?

  1. AA bank balance
  2. BMoney
  3. CLand
  4. DA bicycle
4.Medium

D parks his car on a police officer's foot by accident, then refuses to move it once told. Under Fagan v MPC, this is:

  1. ANo offence, because the original act was accidental and mens rea arose only afterwards
  2. BA mere omission without any duty to act
  3. CA battery, because the act was continuing when the mens rea arose
  4. DOnly criminal damage to the officer's shoe
5.Medium

D makes repeated silent phone calls to V, causing her psychiatric illness. Following R v Ireland, D can be guilty of:

  1. AOnly a civil wrong, because no physical harm occurred
  2. BAn assault, as silent calls can cause apprehension of immediate force
  3. COnly harassment, because no force was used
  4. DNo offence, because words or silence can never amount to an assault in law
6.Medium

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. ANo offence at all
  2. BMurder
  3. CManslaughter
  4. DAttempted murder
7.Hard

In R v Malcherek and Steel (1981), doctors switched off life-support machines after diagnosing brain death. The court held:

  1. AThe victims died of natural causes in law
  2. BThe defendants were guilty only of attempted murder
  3. CThe doctors became the legal cause of death by deliberately switching off the machines
  4. DSwitching off did not break the chain; the original assailants caused the deaths
8.Hard

In R v Sullivan (1984), D injured a friend during an epileptic seizure. The House of Lords held:

  1. AD was guilty because he knew he was epileptic
  2. BOnly psychiatric illnesses can be diseases of the mind
  3. CEpilepsy was an external factor, so the defence was automatism
  4. DEpilepsy was a "disease of the mind" in law, so the defence was insanity

Answer key

  1. 1. B · The mental element of a crime
  2. 2. C · Robbery is theft accompanied by force or the threat of force
  3. 3. C · Land
  4. 4. C · A battery, because the act was continuing when the mens rea arose
  5. 5. B · An assault, as silent calls can cause apprehension of immediate force
  6. 6. D · Attempted murder
  7. 7. D · Switching off did not break the chain; the original assailants caused the deaths
  8. 8. D · Epilepsy was a "disease of the mind" in law, so the defence was insanity

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