Attempts Flashcards
Define Attempts Including Section and Act
Section 72
Crimes Act 1961
(1) Every one 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
intended, whether in the circumstances it was possible to commit the offence or not.
(2) The question whether an act done or omitted with intent to commit an offence is or is
not only preparation for the commission of that offence, and too remote to constitute
an attempt to commit it, is a question of law.
(3) An act done or omitted with intent to commit an offence may constitute an attempt if it
is immediately or proximately connected with the intended offence, whether or not
there was any act unequivocally showing the intent to commit that offence.
Define “Does or Omits and Act for the Purpose of Accomplishing His Objective”
To be guilty of an attempt the defendant must have progressed past the stage
of preparation and commenced a process intended to lead to the commission
of the full offence.
His conduct must be sufficiently proximate to the offence – ie, he must have
taken a “real and practical step” towards committing it, although he does not
need to have taken all the necessary steps to do so.
What are the three elements of an attempt offence?
Intent (Mens Rea)
Act (Actus Reus)
Proximity
Define Deliberate Act
“Intent” means that act or omission must be done deliberately. The act or
omission must be more than involuntary or accidental.
Define Intent to Produce a Result
The second type of intent is an intent to produce a specific result. In this
context result means “aim, object, or purpose”
What is the test for proximity? (Two Questions)
Has the offender done anything more than getting himself into a position
from which he could embark on an actual attempt? or
Has the offender actually commenced execution; that is to say, has he
taken a step in the actual crime itself?
Elaborate on When An Act is Physically or Factually Impossible
An act is physically or factually impossible if the act in question amounts to
an offence, but the suspect is unable to commit it due to interruption,
ineptitude, or any other circumstances beyond their control.
Elaborate on When An Act is Legally Impossible
Where the completed act is legally impossible – that is, where the completed
act would not be an offence – the suspect cannot be convicted of an attempt,
even where they may have had the requisite criminal intent.
Penalty for Attempts
Including Section and Act
Section 311
Crimes Act 1961
(1) Every one who attempts to commit any offence in respect of which no punishment for
the attempt is expressly prescribed by this Act or by some other enactment is liable to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years if the maximum punishment for that
offence is imprisonment for life, and in any other case is liable to not more than half
the maximum punishment to which he would have been liable if he had committed
that offence.
