Accessory After The Fact s71 C.A.61

Question 1

Name the Elements for Accessory after the Fact & its Section/Act

Answer 1

Accessory After the Fact
Section 71 Crimes Act 1961

1. Knowing any person to be a party to an offence (Simester & Brookbanks) (R v Crooks) (R v Briggs) (include the defintion of knowledge, party to, offence, person)

2a. Receives, Comforts, or Assists that person OR

2b. Tampers with/Actively Suppresses Evidence against him or her

3. In order to enable him or her to escape after arrest, OR
   to avoid arrest or conviction (R v Mane)

Question 2

Under Section 312 what is the penalty for Accessory After the Fact?

Answer 2

• If the maximum penalty for the offence committed is life then 7 years max penalty
• If the maximum penalty for the offence committed is 10 years then 5 years max penalty.

Anything less then that the penalty is half the committing of the offence code.

Question 3

What needs to be proved for a charge of Accessory After the Fact?

Answer 3

The person who is the accessory must have knowledge that the person they are assisting committed the offence or was a party to that offence, and that the offence HAS been committed already.

• The person who is the accessory received, comforted, or assisted that person who committed the offence or was a party to OR tampered with or actuvely suppressed evidence, and at that time the purpose was to allow the principal offender to escape after arrest, or to aviod arrest, or conviction.

Question 4

Case Law for Knowledge:

Answer 4

Simester & Brookbanks - Knowing or Correctly Believing.
The belief must be a correct one, where the belief is wrong that person cannot know something

Question 5

Outline R v Crooks

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Outline R v Briggs

Answer 6

Case Law - R v Briggs
Relates to the intentional ignorance of the Accessory. Knowledge can be inferred by wilful blindness or a deliberate abstention from making inquiries that would confirm the suspected truth.

Question 7

Relating to R v Briggs (knowledge) there are TWO situations where a person is considered wilfully blind, what are they?

Answer 7

• Where a person deliberately closes their eyes and fails to make inquiries as they would get the answer they didn’t want
• Where the truth is at hand but they don’t make the inquiries in order not to know.

Question 8

Define Party to (s66(1) C.A. 1961

Answer 8

Anyone who is:
a. Actually committs the offence.
b. Does or omits any act for the purpose of aiding any person to commit the offence.
c. Abets any person in the commission of the offence.
d. Incites, Counsels or Procures any person to committ the offence.

Question 9

Define Offence

Answer 9

Any act or omission punishable on conviction under any enactment and are demarcated into four categories.

Question 10

Name the FIVE intentional acts that define what a person must do to become an accessory after the fact.

Answer 10

1. Receives
2. Comforts
3. Assists
4. Tampers with
5. Actively suppresses evidence

Question 11

For a person to be charged with Accessory after the Fact the offence must be complete. What was held in R v Mane?

Answer 11

The accussed was intially charged with being an Accessory after the fact to Murder, in that it was alleged he assisted after the victim was shot, and before the victim died from his injuries. Therefore as the offence of murder actually was not complete at that time the accessory could not have actually been an accessory

Question 12

Define R v Mane

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Define Receives:

Answer 13

Harbouring an offender, or offering them shelter can be considered receiving and/or comforting i.e. hiding someone in the basement

Question 14

Define Comforting:

Answer 14

Providing an offender with things such as clothing, shelter, food.

Question 15

Define Assisting:

Answer 15

This encompasses many different situations such as acting as a look out, providing transport, getting someone to purchase stolen property as the receiver, deliberately giving law enforcement false leads

Question 16

Define ‘Evading Justice’ - there is a Case Law associated with this, what it is?

Answer 16

R v Gibbs. This case law highlights the act/acts that Gibbs did in order to help the escapee (a convicted murderer) stay afloat by hiding him in a place, and leaving to get supplies bringing them back to the escapee

Question 17

Define Tampers with Evidence:

Answer 17

This means to alter the evidence against the offender. i.e. modifying telephone records to conceal communications.

Question 18

Define Actively Suppressing Evidence:

Answer 18

Acts of destroying or concealing evidence against an offender. This could be bloodied clothing being washed repeatedly or setting something alight.

Question 19

What was held in R v Levy?

Answer 19

Levy was convicted for being an AATF to counterfeiting currency. He removed the equipment used by the offender after the offender had already been arrested. Levy did a deliberate act in relation to evidence against the offender for the purpose of assisting the offender to evade justice

Question 20

Can a person be convicted of indirect assistance?

Answer 20

Yes. In short they can. There is no requirement they have to assist the main offender directly.

Question 21

What intent does an accessory hold when assisting an offender?

Answer 21

1. To escape after arrest,
2. Avoid Arrest
3. Avoid Conviction

Question 21

When it comes to charging someone with Accessory After The Fact does there need to be proof of the principal offence? Explain.

Answer 21

The person charged with Accessory After the Fact is entitled to request if there is proof of the alleged offence and to challenge its proof.

Question 22

Can the Accessory After the Fact still be convicted if the Primary offender is aquitted?

Answer 22

Yes they can still convicted, unless their conviction is inconsistent with the aquittal of the original offender.ok