Criminal Law — Overview

Discussion Group

These self-sustaining groups are an essential part of the life of our graduate school. They are organised in some cases by graduate students and in others by Faculty members and meet regularly during term, typically over a sandwich lunch, when one of the group presents work in progress or introduces a discussion of a particular issue or new case. They may also encompass guest speakers from the faculty and beyond.

Criminal Law Virtual Discussion Group

Publications

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Showing all 32 Criminal Law publications currently held in our database
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S Wallerstein, ''A drunken consent is still consent'--Or Is It? A Critical Analysis of the Law on a Drunken Consent to Sex FOllowing Bree ' (2009) 73 Journal of Criminal Law 582

Abstract/note: Does a person who is voluntarily drunk remain capable of giving valid consent to sex? The Court of Appeal in Bree held that ‘a drunken consent is still (valid) consent’, though it further recognises that the capacity to consent may evaporate well before a complainant becomes unconscious. This decision is a move in the right direction, yet this article argues that it has not gone far enough, and that s. 74 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which governs these scenarios allows—and even requires—a more drastic interpretation: a drunken consent is not consent when the person is very drunk. Based on a distinction between factual and legal consent, the article starts by setting up the legal framework as set out in s. 74, and developed in Bree and H. It then goes on to criticise the current case law and its interpretation of s. 74 for not being restrictive enough, by examining two possible theoretical rationales, mentioned in the judgments. The first, which is based on an analogy with the law relating to intoxicated offenders, is criticised on the grounds of differences between consent and intent. The second, which is based on the general argument that this position recognises the positive aspect of sexual autonomy, is criticised for its failure to distinguish between claims of normative facts and claims of public policy and for giving too much weight to the latter considerations. From the discussion an alternative, more restrictive position, emerges in line with s. 74 of the 2003 Act, according to which a drunken consent is not consent. This position can be adopted by judges, through the provision of better guidance to juries, but failing that a reform of the law might be needed.


J J W Herring, Rape (TONE 2009)

Abstract/note: Discussion of the problems with the law on rape.


J J W Herring, Criminal Law (Palgrave 2009)

Abstract/note: Textbook on criminal law


ISBN: 1397802302717133

J J W Herring, 'Relational autonomy and rape' in Day Sclater; Ebtehaj; Jackson; Richards (ed), Regulating Autonomy ( 2009)

Abstract/note: A discussion of relational autonomy as a concept and in particular how it might be used to develop a law on rape


ISBN: 9781841139463

J J W Herring, Great Debates: Criminal Law (Palgrave 2009)

Abstract/note: Book discussing theoretical debate in criminal law


ISBN: 978 0230577237

J J W Herring, Criminal Law: The Basics (Routledge 2009)

Abstract/note: An introduction to criminal law


ISBN: 10-415-49132-9

J J W Herring (ed), Criminal Law Statutes 2009-2010 (routledge 2009)

Abstract/note: Collection of statutes


ISBN: 0145552818

A Ashworth, Principles of Criminal Law (Oxford University Press 2009)

A Ashworth (ed), General Principles of Criminal Law (Oxford University Press 2009)

A Ashworth, 'Criminal Law, Human Rights and Preventative Justice' in Bernadette McSherry, Alan Norrie and Simon Bronitt (eds), Regulating Deviance: the Redirection of Criminalisation and the Futures of Criminal Law (Hart Publishing 2009)

A Ashworth, A Change iof Normative Position: Determining the Contours of Culpability in Criminal Law (New Criminal Law Review 2008)

DOI: 10.1525/nclr.2008.II.2.232

Abstract/note: Critical re-examination of the doctrine of 'change of normative position' in criminal law theory, comparing it with forms of constructive liability.


J J W Herring, Criminal Law: Text Cases and Materials (OUP 2008)

Abstract/note: A textbook on criminal law


ISBN: 9780199234325

J J W Herring, 'Mum\'s not the word. An Analysis of Section 5, Domestic Violence, Crimes and Victims Act' in C. Clarkson and S. Cunningham (eds), Criminal Liability for Non-Agressive Death ( 2008)

Abstract/note: A discussion of the offence of 'familial homicide'


ISBN: 9780754673347

A Ashworth, Conceptions of Overcriminalization (Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law 2008)

Abstract/note: Re-assessment of Kadish's work on criminalization, and proposal of further principles.


ISBN: ISSN 1546-7619

M Dempsey and Jonathan Herring, 'Why Sexual Penetration Requires Justification' (2007) 27 (3) OJLS 467

Abstract/note: This article is the first of a series of three in which the authors examine the moral quality of sexual penetration, its justifications, and how it should be regulated by the criminal law. This first article defends the claim that sexual penetration calls for justification in virtue of the use of force, risks of harm, and/or social meanings associated with this conduct.


J J W Herring, 'Crimes against the Dead' in B.Brooks-Gordon, F. Ebtehaj, J Herring, M. Johnson, M. Richards (eds), Death Rites and Rights (Hart 2007)

Abstract/note: Discussion of offences which can be committed against corpses.


ISBN: 9781841137322

J J W Herring, 'Familial Homicide, Failure to Protect and Domestic Violence: Who's the Victim?' (2007) Criminal Law Review 923

Abstract/note: Discussion of familial homicide in cases where the defendant has been the victim of domestic violence.


ISBN: 0011135X

J J W Herring, Human Rights and Rape (2007) Criminal Law Review 228

Abstract/note: Discussion of the law of rape.


J J W Herring and Elaine Palser, 'The Duty of Care in Cross Negligence Manslaughter' (2007) Criminal Law Review 24-41

Abstract/note: Article on gross negligence manslaughter


J J W Herring and Michelle Madden Dempsey, 'Why Sexual Penetration Requires Justification' (2007) Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 467

Abstract/note: Discussion of sexual penetration


S Wallerstein, 'The State’s Duty of Self-Defence: Justifying the Expansion of Criminal Law' in L. Lazaros & B. Goold (eds), Security and Human Rights (Hart Publishing 2007)

A Ashworth, 'Principles, Pragmatism and the Law Commission's Recommendations on Homicide Law Reform' (2007) Criminal Law Review 333-344

Abstract/note: Appraisal of the structure and detail of recent Law Commission recommendations.


ISBN: 0011 135X

A Ashworth, Principles of Criminal Law, 5th edition (Oxford University Press 2006)

Abstract/note: New edition of text on criminal law.


ISBN: 0-19-928114-9

M Dempsey, 'What Counts as Domestic Violence? A Conceptual Analysis' (2006) 12 (2) (2006) William and Mary Journal of Women and the Law 301

Abstract/note: This article analyses the conceptual structure of domestic violence and critiques various influential accounts of domestic violence operating in the criminal justice system, legal and sociological academia, and the domestic violence advocacy community.Section A presents a preliminary philosophical analysis of domestic violence, with the goal of furthering our understanding of the correct use of this concept.This analysis centers around three key elements of domestic violence: violence, domesticity, and structural inequality.Section B develops an explanatory model of domestic violence based upon these key elements.Section C examines and critiques four principal accounts of domestic violence, each of which reflects the conflicting ways in which the concept of domestic violence is used in the language and methodology of the criminal justice, academic, and advocacy communities. Finally, this essay endorses an account of domestic violence which roughly corresponds to that employed in the recent work of U.S. sociologist, Michael Johnson.


J J W Herring, Criminal Law (OUP 2006)

Abstract/note: Textbook on criminal law


ISBN: 199289352

M Dempsey, 'Rethinking Wolfenden: Prostitute-Use, Criminal Law and Remote Harm' (2005) Criminal Law Review 444

Abstract/note: This article critiques the Wolfenden Committee’s conclusion that criminalising prostitute-use is inconsistent with the liberal harm principle. Section 1 evaluates recent empirical evidence challenging Wolfenden’s assumptions regarding prostitution. Section 2 analyses the use of forced-prostitutes as a direct harm offence of rape. Section 3 presents a new approach to criminalising the conduct of prostitute-users, and sketches a prima facie case in favour of criminalising solicitation for prostitute-use as an abstract endangerment offence.


J J W Herring, Criminal law (Palgrave 2005)

Abstract/note: textbook on criminal law


ISBN: 10: 1-4039-3417-7

A Ashworth, 'General Principles of Criminal Law' in D.J. Feldman (ed), English Public Law (Oxford University Press 2004)

A Ashworth and others, 'The Sexual Offences Act 2003: Rape, Sexual Assaults and the Problem of Consent' (2004) [2004] Criminal Law Review 328-346

Abstract/note: Analysis and critique of new legislation


ISBN: 0011 135X

A Ashworth, Principles of Criminal Law, 4th edn (Oxford University Press 2003)

Abstract/note: New edition of established text


ISBN: 0-19-925980-1

S Wallerstein and others, 'Thou Shall Not Resspect the person of the poor, not honour the person of the Mighty: On the Dinitz Case' (2003) 33 Mishpatim 13

Abstract/note: (in Hebrew)


S Wallerstein, 'Why English law should not incorporate a defence of superior orders' 2010 Crim LR 109

Abstract/note: English law does not recognise the defence of obedience to superior orders. Recent years have seen voices calling for reconsideration of the law and for the adoption of a defence in some form. One of the reasons for this stance is the fact that the defence is recognised in the Rome Statute constituting the International Criminal Court (ICC). This article examines whether the law should be changed and the defence of superior orders introduced into English law. As the title suggests, the article concludes that such a change is not desirable and that the current position of the law is correct. Over the years very little has been written on the defence of superior orders in the domestic context but, not surprisingly, the subject has been widely discussed in international law in the context of the laws of war. Thus, the article starts (Section I) with the debate in international law, presenting the two main approaches regarding the recognition of a defence of obedience to superior orders: the absolute liability approach adopted by the Nuremberg Tribunal and other ad hoc tribunals over the years, and the conditional liability approach adopted by the ICC in the Rome Statute. Section II goes on to examine the possible rationales that underlie each position. It argues that the defence can be justified either as a recognition of the dilemma faced by the soldier who is required to obey the order as per national law, and to disobey it as per international law, or as a claim of mistake of law or of fact. The question then is whether these rationales can be transformed into domestic English law and support a claim for an adoption of a qualified defence of superior orders. Section III argues that two differences between the stance of English law and international law need to be accounted for: the first is that though the soldier’s dilemma is still applicable, it exists in a somewhat different structure which results in a limitation of the dilemma to borderline cases only, and the second is the fact that English law does not recognise the defence of mistake of law. As a consequence, it is submitted that the defence of superior orders should not be recognised in English law. Nevertheless, a claim of obedience to superior orders often obscures the real defence which should be advanced, and while superior orders should not be recognised as an independent defence the facts may constitute a basis for a defence of duress or of a mistaken case of private defence, both of which are recognised in English law.


Courses

The courses we are offering in the 2009-10 academic year in this field are:

Undergraduate

Law Moderations (Phase I)

Law Moderations are preliminary examinations in Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, and Roman Law, taken at the end of the second term in the first year of the BA. Students must pass them in order to continue in the BA; the degree is awarded on the basis of the FHS Examinations.

Criminal Law

The course deals with the following: (i) General principles of criminal liability: actus reus and mens rea, omissions, causation, negligence, strict liability, complicity and inchoate offences. (ii) General defences. (iii) The law relating to offences against the person (including sexual offences) and offences against property and other economic interests.

FHS - Final Year (Phase III)

The degree is awarded on the basis of nine final examinations at the end of the three-year course (or four years in the case of Law with Law Studies in Europe). Phase II of the Final Honour School includes the first and second term of the final year; the Final Examinations are taken in the third term of the final year.

Criminal Law (Senior Status only)

The course is not available for those who have taken the subject in Law Moderations and is intended for those who have transferred to Law after Mods, and for senior status students. The syllabus is the same as for the Law Moderations course, but only covers topics 1 - 7 (it does not include topic 8). The paper in the Final Honour School is examined separately, and is intended to be more challenging.


People

Criminal Law teaching is organized by a Subject Group convened by:

Rebecca Williams: CUF Lecturer

in conjunction with:

Andrew Ashworth, QC: Vinerian Professor of English Law
Alan Bogg: CUF Lecturer
John Gardner: Professor of Jurisprudence
Simon Gardner: CUF Lecturer
Katharine Grevling: CUF Lecturer
Jonathan Herring: CUF Lecturer
Jeremy Horder: Professor of Criminal Law
Laura Hoyano: CUF Lecturer
Dori Kimel: Reader in Legal Philosophy
Grant Lamond: University Lecturer in Legal Philosophy
Peter Mirfield: CUF Lecturer
Shlomit Wallerstein: CUF Lecturer
Lucia Zedner: Professor of Criminal Justice
Adrian Zuckerman: Professor of Civil Procedure



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