Attempts

Question 1

what is meant by an inchoate offence?

Answer 1

when no complete offence is committed but there is still liability

Question 2

where can the statute on attempts liability be found?

Answer 2

Criminal Attempts Act 1981 s1(1)

Question 3

what is required for liability for an attempt?

Answer 3

‘an act which is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence’

Question 4

what is the AR for attempts?

Answer 4

an act which is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence

Question 5

what is the MR for attempts?

Answer 5

intent to commit the offence

Question 6

what is the leading case for establishing what constitutes as ‘more than merely preparatory’?

Answer 6

Gullefer 1990

Question 7

what were the facts of Gullefer?

what did it establish?

Answer 7

D jumped onto dog race track to stop the race and have all bets returned once he saw his horse was loosing
not attempted theft

for an attempt, D must be seen to ‘have gone beyond the realm of mere preparation and embarked upon the actual commission of the offence’

Question 8

what case established that it doesn’t have to be the fulfilment of the last act before the crime in order to establish liability?

(aka. committal of A preparatory step is sufficient)

Answer 8

Jones 1990

D having the intention of killing V (a love rival) and sitting in the back of their car is sufficient
did not need to have taken off the safety lack or pulled the trigger in order for it to be an offence

Question 9

what cases found a more than merely preparatory act was present? x4

(AR for attempts satisfied)

Answer 9

Tosti
attempted burglary - examining padlock and cutting equipment found nearby

Toothill
attempted burglary - knocking on Vs door with intention to rape

AG Ref No1 of 1992
attempted rape - taking of Vs clothes, touching her sexually, remaining flaccid

Moore v DPP
attempted drink driving - stopped by police a few metres from public road over the limit

Question 10

what cases found that there was not a more than merely preparatory act? x3

(AR not satisfied for attempts)

Answer 10

Campbell
not attempted robbery - outside post office with imitation firearm, blacked out motorcycle helmet and a note demanding money

Geddes
not attempted false imprisonment - found in school toilets, without good reason, with a knife and a rope

Mason v DPP
not attempted driving over the limit - D who was drunk prevented others leaving the locked car

Question 11

how does A.P. Simester describe the distinction between incomplete attempts and preparations?

Answer 11

‘it seeks to capture the point at which D has embarked upon the commission of her intended crime’

Question 12

How does CMV Clarkson describe as the usual way of establishing whether there was an attempt?

Answer 12

‘where there has been a ‘confrontation’ with the victim

Question 13

how was an attempt recognised in Toothill?

Answer 13

knocking on the door

‘moved from the preparatory to the executory stage of his plan’

Question 14

what is insufficient to establish attempted murder?

what case established this?

Answer 14

intention to create GBH
there must be an intention to kill

Whybrow 1951

Question 15

how was the intention of an attempt described in Walker 1989?

Answer 15

knowledge of virtual certainty of outcome with a high probability

Question 16

how was intention for attempt described in Hales 2005?

Answer 16

prepared to commit a criminal offence where outcome is known
ex//prepared to kill in order to escape

Question 17

generally, what is the MR for attempts?

Answer 17

D must have intended the act, but be reckless as to the outcome of the act

Question 18

how was intention showed in Khan 1990?

Answer 18

attempted rape

intention to have sexual intercourse and reckless as to the presence of consent

Question 19

how was intention showed in AG Ref No3 of 1992?

Answer 19

intended arson/ fire damage with recklessness as to the endangerment of life

Question 20

what case established that all elements of the attempted act have to be intended for an attempt to be made?

Answer 20

Pace 2014

can be reckless as to the outcome

Question 21

what does Mirfield believe about MR in attempts?

Answer 21

agrees with Pace 2014
accused must have intended every element of the offence in order to be found to have committed an attempt

D must have intended the consequences
does not have to intended the circumstances as they lack control over this

Question 22

why does Mirfield argue that the MR for attempts must be as demanding as for the complete offence?

Answer 22

because an attempt lacks the commission of the complete offence - full AR
therefore the intention must be clearly and unequivocally proven

Question 23

what is a failure with Mirfield’s argument?

Answer 23

the argument doesn’t work for attempted rape

D would have had to not only intend to be reckless as to whether consent was given, but also intend that V doesn’t consent

Question 24

under what section of the Criminal Attempts Act can an individual be found liable for the commission of an ‘impossible’ offence?

Answer 24

section 1(2)

Question 25

when can a defendant be charged with the attempt of an impossible offence?

what case?

Answer 25

that, if the facts had been as D believed them to be, then they can be charged with the offence

R v Shivpuri
where D believed that he was transporting heroin when he was in fact transporting legal snuff

Question 26

what did the HL in R v Shivpuri establish does not amount to an attempt of the impossible?

why?

Answer 26

the attempted commission of an offence that does not exist

cannot convict someone of something that is not criminal, even if D believed it to be and attempted it nonetheless

Question 27

what did the precedent set in Shivpuri 1986 overrule in respect of liability for impossible attempts?

Answer 27

existing precedent was previously found in Anderton v Ryan 1985

that an individual couldn’t be found liable for an attempt of something is it was found, on the facts, to actually be legal
(video cassettes found to not have been stolen)

Question 28

What were the Law Commission’s reasonings for attempts liability? x3

Answer 28

moral culpability and risk associated

allow police intervention

to act as a deterrent

Question 29

how does the Law Commission describe the striking of a balance?

Answer 29

allow effective intervention to prevent harm

ensure only culpable individuals are convicted

Question 30

how did the Law Commission define a more than merely preparatory act in 2007?

Answer 30

‘conduct by D which is sufficiently close to the final act to be properly regarded as part of the execution of Ds plan’

Question 31

what is an objective approach of inchoate liability in relation to attempts?

Answer 31

manifestly dangerous acts

confrontation/ interaction

Question 32

what is a subjective approach to inchoate liability / attempts?

Answer 32

that any act in preparation could amount to an attempt to commit the offence

Question 33

what is the difference between a impossible attempt and an innocuous act?

Answer 33

impossible - shooting at a person, not knowing they’re already dead

innocuous - buying a believed stolen tape recorder when it is not stolen

Question 34

what are advantages of a subjectivist approach to attempts?

disadvantages?

Answer 34

allows early intervention
deters the act of preparation

discounts the ability to repent - autonomy
D is coerced as to be seen as a dangerous person

Question 35

what are advantages of a objectivist approach to attempts?

disadvantages?

Answer 35

respects autonomy and ability to repent from early preparation
incentivises desisting preparation and commission early
focuses on harm

coerces D to have committed a dangerous act
doesn’t focus on inherent wrong with preparing to undermine the law
limits scope of early intervention