Inchoate Offences Flashcards
what is the case authority for incitement
HMA v Tannahill and Neilson (1943)
what is the definition of incitement
“instigation to a crime may in itself be criminal even although the crime is never committed and never attempted to be committed.”
where was the definition of incitement reinforced?
Baxter v HMA (1998)
The crime of incitement can still be constituted without a definite, final instruction
what is the case authority for conspiracy
Maxwell v HMA (1980)
what is conspiracy as defined in Maxwell v HMA (1980)
constituted by the agreement of two or more persons to further achieve a criminal purpose
what is a criminal purpose
A criminal purpose is one that if attempted or achieved by action on the part of an individual would itself constitute a crime.
what was the significance of Maxwell v HMA 1980
it was the criminality of the purpose and not the result that made the crime a conspiracy.
what case reinforced the definition of conspiracy
coleman v HMA 1999, found that the agreement to further a criminal purpose need not be expressed
could the jury infer from the accused actions that he had agreed in a conspiracy
“by taking a weapon and leaving the house in the company of the others”
what did the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 s294 say about attempt?
(1) Attempt to commit any indictable crime is itself an indictable crime.
(2) Attempt to commit any offence punishable on complaint shall itself be an offence punishable on complaint.
what are the three actus reus of attempt theories
- irrevocability theory
- the last attempt theory
- the perpetration theory
what actus rues of attempt theory best describes the modern law
perpetration theory
what is the perpetration theory
The attempt must be sufficiently proximate to the commission/perpetration of the completed crime
what did Cawthorne v HMA 1968 conclude?
the mens rea for the attempt is the same as the mens rea for the crime
How does Scots law deal with situations where:
there is an attempt to commit a crime but, for some reason or another, the attempt is unsuccessful?
The accused has the mens rea and has moved to the perpetration stage?
the law is unclear, but in Docherty V Brown it concluded it was not relevant if the crime was possible of not as mens rea satisfied
