Inchoate offences

Question 1

What is an inchoate offence?

Answer 1

This is an offence where the defendant takes some steps towards committing a crime but the full offence is not committed.

Question 2

What are the elements of an attempt?

Answer 2

Actus reus: An act which is more than merely preparatory to the commission of an offence (deemed to be more than merely preperatory by a judge)
mens rea: an intention to commit the full offence
Absence of a valid defence: a defendant cannot be convicted for a non-existent crime

It used to be a long standing common law offence, but now has been reformed through legislation under the criminal attempts act 1981

Question 3

What is oblique and conditional intent?

Answer 3

oblique intent: r v walker- court held that the jury may ( but do not necessarily have to) find intention where they are satisfied that the defendant foresaw the result as a virtual certainty

Conditional: where the defendant only intends to commit a crime based on certain conditions- the defendant will still have the sufficient mens rea for an attempts

Question 4

What are the three possibilities of impossibility?

Answer 4

1) non-existent crime- you cannot turn a lawful act into an unlawful act- this arises where the accused believes what they are doing is an offence when it is not (this is a defence)
2)Through inadequacy- where the crime itself is feasible, but the defendant adopts a method that cannot work
3)in fact- The criminal attempts act 1981 s1(2) & (3) have reversed the common law position on impossibility of fact and it is no longer a defence to attempt. Eg if D stabs V, but V is already dead, then D will be liable for attempted Murder