ATTEMPTS Flashcards
DEFINITION
An attempt occurs when a person tries to a crime but fails. The D has the men’s Rea for the crime but fails to complete it.
ACT
S1(1) Criminal Attempts Act 1981: if, with intent to commit and offence, a person does an act which is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence, he is guilty of attempting to commit the offence.
ACTUS REUS= IS DOING AN ACT WHICH IS MORE THAN MERELY PREPARATORY TO THE COMMISSION OF THE OFFENCE
1) More than preparatory + embarked on the proper crime (R v Gullefer)
2) CoA: (A) moved from planning to execution? And (B) D done an act/ trying to commit full offence? (R v Geddes)
3) Has D moved from planning/ preparing to execution + implementation?
4) Has D done an act that he was actually trying to commit the full offence, or has he got himself into a position/ equipped himself to do so?
Where there is an attempt, the D will be held guilty of an attempt to commit the full offence (Boyle + Boyle/ Tossi + White)
D will be guilty (up to the jury to decide) if they have done everything they could before committing the full offence (R v Jones)
MENS REA = D MUST HAVE MR REQUIRED FOR THE FULL OFFENCE, P TO PROVE D’s INTENT (Easom)
1) intention- aims/ purpose to perform act (Mohan)
2) if the prosecution cannot prove intent, then D is not guilty of an attempt (Easom/ Husseyn)
IF APPLICABLE
Conditional intent (AG’s Ref No’s 1+2)
1) still charged with attempt (intending to steal IF there was anything worth stealing)
2) conditional intent is not sufficient for attempted theft (Husseyn)
Attempted murder: prosecution must always prove D had intent to kill (Whynbrow)
Impossiblity/ attempting the impossible:
s1(2) Criminal Attempts Act 1981: D may still be guilty of an attempt even though the facts are such that the commission of the offence is impossible (Shivpuri)
S1(3) even if the result they intended, if achieved, would not be the crime they believed would be committed.
