Parties to a crime Flashcards
What is an innocent agent?
person guilty of offence as a principal even if another performs the AR
What are the ways in which someone can be liable as an accessory?
- Aids
- Abets
- Counsels
- Procures
- Party to a joint enterprise
What does procuring mean?
To produce by endeavour, must be a causal link
Is someone aiding even if it was unwanted/unforseen/unknown by the principal offender?
Yes
Will someone be aiding if they help after the offence?
No
What is counselling?
Giving advice or encouragement before the commission
What is abetting?
Encouraging at the time the offence is committed
Will failure to prevent an offence amount to abetting?
Yes if they have a right/duty to control actions and refrain
What is joint enterprise?
Two or more people committing a crime together
Where defendant 1 goes on to commit a different crime during joint enterprise, how may a defendant 2 be liable as an accessory?
- party to joint enterprise
- D2 had mens rea for an accessory
- different crime committed in the couse of/incidental to original crime
What is the mens rea for assisting/encouraging a crime?
- Intention to assist/encourage
- If crime requires MR, an intention that principal will do AR with that MR
- knowledge of existing facts necessary for it to be criminal
How is the ‘intention to assist/encourage’ part of the mens rea for secondary liability applied?
o D must intend:
*To do act which aids/encourages
*It to aid/encourage commission
Will a defendant have the necessary mens rea as an accessory even if they have no further interest in whether or not the principal commits the crime?
Yes
Is oblique intention to assist/encourage a crime enough?
Yes
Will conditional intent for the ‘intention that the principal commits the crime with the necessary mens rea’ part of accessory liability be enough?
Yes if they had more than foresight, need not be definite
