Attempts Flashcards
Define ‘attempts’ s72ca1961
Everyone who, having an intent to commit an offence does or omits an act for the purpose of accomplishing his object, is guilty of an attempt to commit the offence.
Outline 3 elements that apply for attempt conviction to succeed
- intent (mens Rea) to commit an offence
- act (actus reas) that they did, or ommitted to do something to achieve that end
- proximity - that their act or omission was sufficiently close
Outline the finding in r v Harpur in relation to proximity to completing the full offence
Actions need not be considered in isolation: sufficient evidence of intent can be made from the defendants conduct in its entirety.
Where it is legally possible but physically impossible to commit the offence can a person be charged with an attempt to commit the offence? Explain
Yes- so long as the offender has the necessary intention and performs the necessary acts
Give case law examples where an intended act is “legally possible, physically impossible” to commit.
- r v ring - hand in empty pocket with intent to steal
- Higgins v police- plants cultivated as cannabis were not in fact cannabis
- police v jay - woman received hedge clippings thinking it was cannabis
What was held in r v Donnelley in relation to attempts
Where the stolen property has been returned to the owner or legal tittle to any such property has been acquired by any person it is not an offence to subsequently receive it even though the receiver may know that the property had previously been stolen or dishonesty obtained . It was legally impossible for him to receive stolen property as those goods were no longer deemed to be stolen.
Outline 3 occasions where the accused has no defence due to changing their mind or making a voluntary withdrawal after committing an act sufficiently proximate to the full offence
- were prevented by some outside agent from doing something that was necessary to complete the offence e.g interruption from the police
- failed to complete the full offence due to ineptitude, inefficiency or insufficient means e.g insufficient explosive to blow apart safe
- were prevented from committing the crime because an intervening event made it physically impossible e.g removal of property before intended theft
Outline the functions of the judge and jury in relation to ‘attempts’
Judge:
must decide wether the accused left the processing stage and was already trying to effect completion of the full offence.
Jury:
Must decide whether the facts presented by the crown have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt and it so, the defendants act was close enough to the full offence.
When is an act ‘physically possible, but legally impossible’?
Where the completed act would not be an offence, the suspect cannot be convicted of attempt even where they may have had criminal intent.
R v Donnelly
Stolen good recovered by Police are no longer stolen. Therefore the Defendant could not be charged with receiving after attempting to obtain the goods from Police, despite knowing that they were stolen as they no longer legally stolen.
