Dr Kyle Murray

Overview

Kyle joined The City Law School as Lecturer in law in August 2021, having previously held various Teaching Fellowships at Durham Law School (Public Law & Human Rights; Criminal Law; Media Law). He holds LLB (hons), Master of Jurisprudence (MJur) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees from Durham University, and is Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In 2025, Kyle took up the position of Senior Lecturer in Law at City.

Research interests: Kyle has expertise in criminal law (sexual offences, deception/mistake & consent; consent & bodily "harm"); constitutional law;  constitutional theory; and moral philosophy. 

Research projects:

Deception, mistake, "conditional consent", and sexual offences,

In recent years, Kyle's main project has been researching the law of sexual offences as it applies to cases of deception and mistake. This research asks: which deceptions or mistakes are/should be capable of undermining or negating consent for the purposes of sexual offences? Essentially, what premises "matter" for sexual consent, and who decides? This involves both clarifying what the current law is in light of recent case law and prosecution guidance (a far from straightforward task), and a consideration of what the approach should be in order fully respect values such as sexual autonomy. 

Contraceptive deceit, non-consensual pregnancy, and bodily harm

Most recently, this research has expanded to look at issues of consent & contraceptive deceit/sabotage in the context of bodily harm offences, particularly in cases where pregnancy is caused. This topic ties into broader themes of reproductive coercion & control. 

Public engagement & impact

Kyle's work has been published in leading national and international journals (such as Criminal Law Review; Canadian Journal of Law & Jurisprudence).

In 2025, Kyle's written evidence was cited extensively by the Crown Prosecution Service in its recent revising of its prosecution guidance on sexual offence cases where consent is alleged to have been based on a mistaken view of the other party's gender or sex (including what is sometimes labelled "gender fraud"). Parts of the amended prosecution guidance reflects the recommendations made in his evidence, to ensure that the guidance is clear and legally accurate.

Kyle has previously been cited in Parliament by the Joint Committee on Human Rights (commenting on legal impact of proposals to reform the Human Rights Act).

Media work 

Kyle has given media commentary on recent controversial cases of sexual consent & deception/mistake,being quoted in several general readership magazines (e.g. Refinery29; Restlesss Network). 

Teaching expertise

Kyle has teaching experience across UK Constitutional Law; Administrative Law and Human Rights; Advanced Public Law; Criminal Law; Law, Sex & Crime; Jurisprudence, and Media Law.

At City, Kyle teaches across several programmes: LLB (Principles of Criminal Law - Module Leader; Principles of Public Law & Human Rights - lecturer & tutor); GDL (Public Law). Kyle was part of the LLB Reimagined working group, contributing to the development of the reimagined LLB, which, among other things, moves to a blended learning teaching and learning approach (as lead on the new Priniciples in Criminal Law module).

In 25/26 Kyle is co-developing a new LLM module on Deepfakes & Disinformation, delivering sections on criminal law responses to non-consensual deepfake intimate images (sometimes known as "deepfake pornography") and recent criminal law reforms in this area.

He has also taught on Constitutional and Administrative Law for the LLB in Legal Practice and consolidation course for the new SQE and Graduate Entry LLB.

Kyle has supervised dissertations at LLB and LLM levels (on topics of criminal law; constitutional law; legal theory.

 

Qualifications

• PhD, Durham Law School, United Kingdom, September 2014 - January 2020
• Master of Jurisprudence (MJur), Durham Law School, Durham University, United Kingdom, September 2013 - May 2015
• LLB (hons), Durham Law School, Durham University, United Kingdom, October 2010 - July 2013

Publications by category