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Setting the standard by which Access further statute-related online materials and other statute books are measured. resources here: www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/orc/statutes/ Blackstone’s Statutes trusted have been in over a million exams—why take a chance on anything else? dents u over 100 st of www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/statutes urvey * S This page intentionally left blank CR IMINA L LAW Text, Cases, and Materials FIFTH EDITION Jonathan Herring 1 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries © Oxford University Press 2012 Th e moral rights of the author have been asserted First Edition copyright 2004 Second Edition copyright 2006 Th ird Edition copyright 2008 Fourth Edition copyright 2010 Fift h Edition copyright 2012 Impression: 1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer Public sector information reproduced under Open Government Licence v1.0 (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/open-government-licence.htm) Crown Copyright material reproduced with the permission of the Controller, HMSO (under the terms of the Click Use licence) British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Data available ISBN 978–0–19–964625–8 Printed by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport, Hampshire For Kirsten, Laurel, Joanna, and Darcy NEW TO THIS EDITION Key revisions in the 5th edition include— • A discussion of the law on omissions aft er R v Evans • Detailed examination of the new defence of loss of control • A reworked chapter on the law of accessories • Th e new law on diminished responsiblity • A new section on emotional harms • Developments in the law on fraud • Recent case law on self-defence PREFACE Usually, students greatly enjoy criminal law. Th e facts of the cases are readily understand- able and provide a revealing insight into the bizarre and grotesque. But many students miss out on the intellectual fascination that the subject has to off er. Th is is in part because much of the theoretical material on criminal law has been presented with such sophistication that it is inaccessible to students. It is one of the primary aims of this book to make the theoretical material on criminal law more readily comprehensible to undergraduates. Th erefore, each chapter (apart from the fi rst) has two parts. Th e fi rst part sets out the law, with extracts from the leading cases. Th e second part describes some of the theoretical material, extracting some of the writing from leading commentators. Th e hope is that the reader will have a sec- ure grasp of the law itself, but also an introduction to the complex philosophical and ethical debates concerning criminal law. Th e selection of materials in books of this kind is far harder than might be thought. Th e articles and books which might be the leading authorities on the topics are sometimes not readily susceptible to having short passages extracted. I have therefore included throughout the book suggestions for further reading. Th ese will enable a reader who wishes to pursue a particular issue in further detail to do so. Th e book seeks to set out the law at 1 September 2011. Jonathan Herring Exeter College, Oxford AUTHOR’S APPROACH Two part chapter structure Th is book takes a unique approach to the study of criminal law. Each chapter is split into two parts. Th e fi rst part looks at what the law actually is at the moment—the ‘black letter’ law— and provides many extracts from key cases. Th e second part looks at the theory behind the law, analyses the law, and provides critical and analytical extracts from secondary sources, including articles and books. Cross-references In order to relate the black letter part of each chapter to the theoretical part, the author has provided clear cross-references throughout the text. Th ese are indicated in the text by the use of arrows with numbers to help you fi nd the corresponding reference, for example, →1 and ←1. Th erefore, when studying the black letter law, readers can refer forwards in the chapter to the theoretical discussion of this aspect of the law, and vice versa by fi nding the corresponding number. Central issues At the start of each chapter, the author has provided a list of the central issues that will be covered, outlining the major areas of discussion and issues within each topic. Further reading Th e author has provided lists of further reading interspersed throughout the text so that readers can quickly and easily locate relevant additional sources on particular aspects of law. Defi nitions Defi nitions of key legal terms and concepts are provided and highlighted throughout the text. Questions and examination tips Questions both to test the reader’s understanding of the actual law, as well as more theoret- ical questions, are included throughout each chapter. Examination tips are also provided, including resources such as fl owcharts to help determine what sort of crime has been com- mitted, and guidelines on approaching specifi c questions or scenarios. author’s approach | ix Online resources Th is book is accompanied by an Online Resource Centre at www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ orc/herringcriminal5e/. Th is provides regular updates to the law following publication—a particularly important resource in this fast-moving area. A selection of key annotated web links is also off ered, guiding readers towards useful websites, along with online guidance on answering a selection of the questions posed in the text. Questions with online guidance are highlighted in the text by the following: ‘For guidance on answering this question, please visit the Online Resource Centre that accompanies this book: www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ orc/herringcriminal5e/’. In addition to this, a test bank of interactive multiple choice ques- tions is provided as a lecturer resource. Finally, there is a video of the author talking about the study of criminal law and his approach to the subject.