4. Accessory After the Fact

Question 1

What are the elements for accessory after the fact - s71(1)?

Answer 1

• knowing any person to be a party to an offence
• recieves, comforts or assists that person OR tampers with or actively suppresses any evidence against him/her
• in order to enable him/her to escape after arrest OR to avoid arrest or conviction

Question 2

What is the penalty for accessory after the fact?

Answer 2

• 7 years if the max punishment for that offence is imprisonment for life
• not exceeding 5 years if the max punishment is imprisonment for 10 or more years
• not more than half the max punishment to which he would have been liable if he had committed the offence

Question 3

What is a defence to accessory after the fact?

Answer 3

you cannot be charged with being an accessory after the fact to your spouse (legally married), or your spouse and another party (this when they work in concert).

Question 4

What are the elements for accessory after the fact?

Answer 4

• The person (person A) who is assisted by the accessory (person B) is a party to an offence that has been committed
• At the time of assisting person A, person B knows that person A was a party to the offence
• Person B assisted person A or tampered with or actively suppressed evidence against person A
• At the time of assisting, etc, Person B’s purpose was to enable person A to escape after arrest or avoid conviction

Question 5

What is the case law regarding when the offence must be complete?

Answer 5

To be considered an accessory the acts done by the person must be after the completion of the offence.
- R v Mane

Question 6

What is the case law regarding knowledge?

Answer 6

Knowledge means actual knowledge or belief in the sense of having no real doubt that the person assisted was a party to the relevant offence. Mere suspicion of their involvement in the offence is insufficient.
- R v Crooks

Question 7

What knowledge must an accessory have at the time of the assistance?

Answer 7

• an offence has been committed

* the person they are assisting was a party to that offence.

Question 8

In what situations is a person wilfully blind?

Answer 8

• the person deliberately shuts their eyes and fails to inquire as they know what the answer would be
• where the means of knowledge is easily at hand and the person realises the likely truth of the matter but refrains from inquiring in order not to know.

Question 9

What is the case law regarding wilful blindness?

Answer 9

as with a receiving charge under s246(1), knowledge may also be inferred from wilful blindness or a deliberate abstention from making inquiries that would confirm the suspected truth.
- R v Briggs

Question 10

What is the definition of receiving vs comforting?

Answer 10

Receiving – harbouring an offender or offering them shelter.

Comforting – encompasses situations where an accessory provides an offender with such things as food and clothing.

Question 11

What is the definition of tampers with evidence vs actively suppresses evidence?

Answer 11

Tampers with evidence – means to alter the evidence against the offender.

Actively suppresses evidence – encompasses acts of concealing or destroying evidence against an offender.

Question 12

What intent does the accessory have to have to enable the offender?

Answer 12

• escape after arrest
• avoid arrest
• avoid conviction