Moriarty v Brookes [1834] EWHC Exch J79

The defendant was a publican. He argued with a customer over a disputed payment and struck him causing a cut below his eye. The publican argued he had asked the customer to leave and he had refused to do so and the force was lawfully applied in ejecting him from the pub.

Held:

The defendant had used excessive force. The Lord Lyndhurst CB set the definition of a wound as

"The definition of a wound in criminal cases is an injury to the person, by which the skin is broken. If the skin is broken, and there was a bleeding, that is a wound"

Back to lecture outline on wounding and GBH in Criminal law