Criminal Law
Sam and Tim share a student house with a large garden and decide to have an end of year “house and garden party” for which Tim and Sam prepare a strong alcoholic punch. At the party, Sam drinks some of the punch, knowing that it contains alcohol, but not realising how strong it is. While drunk from the punch, he gets in a fight with Tim, gives him a hefty shove causing him to fall and hit his head on the garden steps, causing a deep cut to his cheek. When his friend Tina criticises Sam’s behaviour, Sam throws his glass at her, hoping to hit her on the face. Instead, he hits Mat, who was standing next to her. The glass breaks and injures Mat’s eye, who now must stay in hospital for several weeks to recover.
Tina, who is a diabetic, is very upset with the incident with Sam. As a result of this, she forgets to take her insulin. Suddenly, for no reason, she pushes Tim down the stairs, causing him to break his leg. Tina then collapses on the floor unconscious and subsequently has no memory of what she has done.
Judy is another guest, who is also diabetic. Having seen what happened to Tina, she decides to take a double dose of her insulin in order to make sure that nothing like that happens to her at the party. As soon as she takes the double dose however, she slaps her friend Andrew in the face, causing him to bruise.
Briefly discuss the offences with which Sam, Tina and Judy may be charged and the scope of any defences which they may seek to rely on.
