R v Savage

R v Savage
Court	House of Lords
Full case name	R v Savage
Decided	7 November 1991
Citation(s)	[1992] UKHL 1, [1992] AC 699, [1992] 4 All ER 698, [1991] 94 Cr App Rep 193, [1991] 94 Cr App R 193, [1992] 1 AC 699
Court membership
Judge(s) sitting	Lord Keith, Lord Brandon, Lord Ackner, Lord Jauncey, Lord Lowry
Keywords
Assault

R v Savage [1992] UKHL 1 is a House of Lords case in English law on establishing mens rea of assault.

Facts

The defendant, Susan Savage, threw a beer over another woman, Tracey Beal, who was a former girlfriend of Mrs Savage's husband, in a pub on the evening of 31 March 1989. Mrs Savage had in her hand a full pint of beer before she threw the content over Miss Beal; in doing so the glass slipped from Savage's hand and cut Beal's wrist. The defendant claimed that she had only intended to throw the contents of the beer. It was never her intention or her realization that there was risk of injury in her action. The jury by their verdict concluded that Mrs Savage had deliberately thrown not only the beer but the glass at Miss Beal or while throwing the beer, the glass had slipped off her grip and had struck injured Miss Beal. In any of this instance, the jury concluded there was Mrs Savage had no intention that the glass would injure Miss Beal. Mrs Savage was convicted under s20 of Offences against the Person Act 1861 (OAPA 1861) 1861.

Judgment

The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction of s20 by substituting it with a conviction under s47 OAPA 1861 Assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Mrs Savage appealed this decision to the House of Lords which dismissed her appeal.