Parties to a crime Flashcards
Who is a secondary party to a crime?
those who:
1) Aid
2) Bet
3) counsel
4) procure
5) be a party to a joint enterprise
What is the actus reus and mens rea of accessorial liability?
The actus reus:
any of the following five ways:
1) to aid P in committing the offence
2) the abet P in committing the offence
3) to counsel P in committing the offence
4) to procure P to commit the offence
5) to be a party to a joint enterprise with P regarding one offence and during the enterprise, P commits a second different offence
Mens rea:
An intention to assist or encourage the principals conduct
IF the crime requires a mens rea, an intention that the principal will do the the actus reus with that mens rea (procuring would appear to be an exception to this rule)
what are aiding and abetting’s actus reus
Aiding: requres the accessory to give help, support or assistance to the principal offender in carrying out the principal offence.
No causation required
No consensus required with the principal offender
Abeeting:
‘to incite, instigate or encourage’
it means encouraging at the time the offence is being committed
No casual link required
the principal must know they are being abetted
Mere presence may not be enough
failing to precent an offence
What about Counselling and procuring? What are their actus reus?
Counselling-:
Giving advice or encouragement before the commission of the offence
No causal link required between the counselling and the offence
Consensus- must be contact between the parties and a connection between the counselling and the offence.
Procuring- actus reus
To produce by endeavour or endeavour to cause
No need for consensus
There must be a causal link between Defendants act and the commission of the offence
What if the second party withdraws their help? How is a second party convicted?
In certain circumstances a secondary party may change their mind and wish to withdraw their encouragement or help. The general rule is that it is not enough for the secondary offender just to change their mind.
The relevant time for a secondary party to withdraw their encouragement or help is prior to the time of the act of assistance not at the time of the act or assistance or the time the principal offender commits the offence.
If the secondary party has supplied the principal with the means of committing the offence or provided their assistance then they are less likely to be able to withdraw.
The general rule is that if it cannot be proved which of two people committed an offence then both should be acquitted.
There will often be circumstances where the principal offender and the secondary party are both convicted for an offence.
It is possible, in certain circumstances, for a secondary party to be convicted of an offence even when the principal offender is acquitted. Such circumstances may be where a principal has been acquitted due to insufficient evidence or because they successful argued a defence.
As long as it is clear that someone has committed an offence that the defendant was a secondary party to, then the secondary party can be convicted.
What about an attempt?
A person will not be a secondary party to an offence if they attempt to aid, abet, procure or counsel a principal offender to commit an offence.
A person will be a secondary party to an offence if they aid, abet, procure or counsel a principal offender who attempts to commit an offence.
Put another way, a person could not be found guilty of attempting to aid or abet an offender but they could be found guilty of aiding or abetting an offender who attempted to commit an offence.
What is a joint enterprise?
Finally, we will consider the law of joint enterprise, this is where two or more people commit a crime together. Where two defendants commit the same offence together and have the necessary actus reus and mens rea for that offence they will both be principal offenders and liable in the normal way.
If two or more defendants set out to commit an offence together and, during the commission of that agreed offence, one of the defendants commits another crime then both (or all) defendants may be guilty of the second crime under the law of joint enterprise. The second crime must be committed in the course of, or incidental to, the commission of the first offence.
There would be no need to show that the other defendants aided or abetted the commission of the second offence, it is enough that the defendants were parties to the joint enterprise and had the relevant mens rea for an accessory.
As a reminder, the mens rea for an accessory is an intention to assist or encourage the principal’s conduct, if the crime requires a mens rea, then the intention that the principal will commit the actus reus with the mens rea and knowledge of existing facts or circumstances necessary for the offence to be a crime.
