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

Diminished responsibility is a partial defence available only to a charge of:

  1. AMurder
  2. BRobbery
  3. CRape
  4. DTheft
2.Easy

An attempt to commit a crime means:

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

Which sentence must a court impose on an adult convicted of murder in England and Wales?

  1. AA suspended sentence
  2. BLife imprisonment
  3. CA fixed term of 10 years
  4. DA community order
4.Medium

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. BConsent
  3. CDuress of circumstances
  4. DDiminished responsibility
5.Medium

Strict liability offences are offences where:

  1. ALiability arises only if the defendant was negligent as to every element
  2. BOnly intentional acts count
  3. CThe defendant must confess
  4. DNo mens rea is required for at least one element of the actus reus
6.Medium

Two adult friends agree to a fist fight in the street, and one breaks the other's nose. Following A-G's Reference (No 6 of 1980), consent is:

  1. ANo defence, because a street fight causing actual bodily harm is not in the public interest
  2. BA full defence, because both adults freely agreed to the fight and accepted the risk of injury
  3. CRelevant only to the sentence and never to guilt
  4. DA defence only if the fight was planned in advance
7.Hard

In R v Gullefer (1990), D ran onto a greyhound track to get the race declared void and recover his bet. The Court of Appeal held:

  1. AHe was guilty of attempted theft, as running onto the track was more than preparatory
  2. BAttempt requires the last act before the crime
  3. CHis acts were merely preparatory, as he had not embarked on the "crime proper"
  4. DImpossibility gave him a complete defence
8.Hard

In Tesco Supermarkets v Nattrass (1972), Tesco avoided liability because:

  1. ACompanies can never commit offences that require proof of any mental element
  2. BThe customer had not paid for the goods
  3. CThe offence was a strict liability offence
  4. DThe store manager was not part of the company's "directing mind and will"

Answer key

  1. 1. A · Murder
  2. 2. B · Doing more than merely preparatory acts with intent to commit the offence
  3. 3. B · Life imprisonment
  4. 4. C · Duress of circumstances
  5. 5. D · No mens rea is required for at least one element of the actus reus
  6. 6. A · No defence, because a street fight causing actual bodily harm is not in the public interest
  7. 7. C · His acts were merely preparatory, as he had not embarked on the "crime proper"
  8. 8. D · The store manager was not part of the company's "directing mind and will"

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