RECENT ASSIGNMENT

LAW161 TRIMESTER 1 2016 - ASSIGNMENT
John lives in a house in Armidale, NSW, with his 14-year-old son, Ned. His other son, William (aged 20), moved out of the house in January 2015 in order to attend university in Sydney. John is separated from Ned and William’s mother (Ellen) who lives in Tamworth.
In July 2015, William is visiting John and Ned during a break from his studies. Over dinner, the three of them have a few glasses of wine, and the conversation turns to Ellen and the break-up of John’s marriage. Ned says that he misses his mum, and that he would like to go and stay with her for a while, perhaps over the next summer holidays.
During the conversation, John gets increasingly angry, telling his children they should not be so ungrateful, and that he has worked hard to provide for them since their mother left. Having heard the commotion, a neighbour (Grace) knocks at the door and asks what is going on. John waves his fist at her and shouts, ‘Get out of here or you’ll be sorry!’ Frightened, Grace leaves.
Becoming increasingly angry, John punches William in the face, which knocks William over, and William bangs his head on the dining table as he falls. Scared, Ned runs to the front door, pulls it open and runs out. On the way out, he grabs a bottle of wine. John slams the front door, shouting, ‘That’s right, run to your mum, and don’t come back here!’
After slamming the front door, John turns to William, who is lying unconscious on the floor and says, ‘Get up you big baby’. Getting no response, John walks upstairs and goes to bed.
In the morning, John comes downstairs to find William dead, lying in the same place as he had left him. He had never regained consciousness, dying as a result of hitting his head on the table. Overnight, Ned had attempted to walk to Tamworth, drinking the wine to keep him warm. However, it was an exceptionally cold night, and Ned died of exposure by the roadside just after midnight.
Question: What criminal offence/s might John have committed?
The deadline for submission is 2359 on 18 April 2016; submission is via the link on Moodle.
Your assignment should be fully referenced, using the Australian Guide to Legal Citation, and should include a bibliography.
The word limit for the assessment is 2000 words (excluding references and bibliography).
The work must be completed individually.

MARKING CRITERIA
There is no specific allocation of marks to individual criteria. The mark awarded reflects the overall quality of the written assignment taking into account all criteria.
Content demonstrates
• Identification of issues
• Knowledge and application of the relevant legal principles
Structure demonstrates
• Clear introduction and conclusion
• Careful organisation (e.g. use of headings)
Expression, style and presentation demonstrates
• Recognition of nature of audience
• Recognition of purpose of assessment, i.e. to provide a reasoned view of potential criminal liability
• Written in plain English, in a style which is clear, fluent and concise
• Careful proofreading
Citation
• Accurate Citation of sources - AGLC
Word Length
• Within the stated word length