SQE1 sample questions

Question 67

A woman believes that her boyfriend is having an affair and goes to his home to confront him and end the relationship. She takes a bag of her boyfriend’s property with her in order to return it to him, which includes a pair of his boots. Her boyfriend does not answer his front door. The woman is convinced he is inside the home and becomes angry. She stands in his front garden and shouts, demanding that he let her in.

A man comes out of the neighbouring house and stands just outside its front door. The man asks the woman to be quiet which angers the woman further. The woman is separated from the man by a tall fence between the boyfriend’s home and the neighbouring house but she takes one of her boyfriend’s boots from the bag and throws it across the fence at the man. She intends to cause the man to expect to be hit by the boot and to actually hit him with it. The man expects the boot to hit him, as would any reasonable person in the man’s situation. He ducks down quickly and the boot misses him, hitting the front door.

The man goes back into his own house, uninjured, and calls the police to report the incident.

Can the woman be guilty of common assault on the man?

A. Yes, because the man expected to be struck by the boot.

B. No, because there was no direct physical contact between the man and the woman.

C. No, because the boot did not make any contact with the man.

D. No, because the man did not expect any direct physical contact between him and the woman.

E. Yes, because a reasonable person in the man’s position would have expected to be struck by the boot.