PARTIES TO A CRIME Flashcards
What is the difference between a principal offender and the accessories (secondary parties)?
The principal is the person who, with appropriatemens rea, commits theactus reusof the offence.
Can have more than one principal
How can someone be guilty of being the principal even if another person actually performs the actus reus?
This occurs where the person acting is an ‘innocent agent’. E.g. where the person carrying out theactus reusis under the age of criminal liability or is deceived as to what they are doing.
How can someone be liable as an accessory?
R v Jogee - 5 ways:
- to aid
- to abet
- to counsel
- to procure
- to be a party to a joint enterprise
What is the AR for an accessory charge?
They were an accessory in one of the 5 ways (aid/abet/counsel/procure/joint enterprise)
What is the MR for an accessory charge?
3 aspects:
- An intention to assist or encourage the principal’s conduct.
- If the crime requires amens rea, an intention that the principal will do theactus reuswith thatmens rea. (Procuring = exception to this rule.) (conditional intent is enough)
- Knowledge of existing facts or circumstances necessary for the offence to be criminal. (includes willfully blindness and if they know the principal will commit any one of a number of crimes)
How can a secondary party withdraw?
The general rule is that it is not enough to just have a change of mind. Something must be done and, at the very least, the withdrawal must be communicated to the principal or a law enforcement agency.
- withdrawal must take place before assistance
- communication is not needed when the violence is spontaneous
Can conviction of a secondary party and acquittal of the principle ever happen?
Yes - could occur when the principal has been acquitted due to insufficient evidence or the principal could not be found.
- As long as it is clear that someone has committed the offence to which D was a secondary party, D can be convicted.
- the principal could be acquitted due to a defence
What happens if it cannot be proved which of the 2 people committed the crime?
General rule is that both must be acquitted
However, if it can be proved that the one who did not commit the crime as the principal was a secondary party to the crime, then both can be convicted.
How can someone be an accessory by procurement?
- To procure means to produce by endeavour.
- No need for consensus
- There must be a causal link
How can someone be an accessory by aiding?
- It requires the accessory to give help, support or assistance to the principal offender in carrying out the principal offence.
- supplying materials or tools to commit the offence (Thambiah v R)
- giving information which helps the principal to commit a crime (A-G v Able)
- holding down a victim in assault (R v Clarkson)
- no consensus or causation needed
How can someone be an accessory by counselling?
- giving advice or encouragement before the commission of the offence
- happens BEFORE the act
- no causation needed
- must be contact between the parties (consensus needed)
- doesn’t have to have a positive effect on the outcome, the encouragement might have been ignored, yet the counselled offence will be commit
How can someone be an accessory by abetting?
- ‘to incite, instigate or encourage’.
- this happens DURING the offence being committed
- no causation needed
- must be contact/ communication between parties (consensus)
- mere presence at the scene is not enough to count as abetting
- failure to prevent an offence where D has a right/ duty to control the actions of another (parent/ owner of pub/ car owner)
How can someone be an accessory by being a part of a joint enterprise?
She was a party to the joint enterprise of crime A and had the mens rea for an accessory. Crime B (what she would be an accessory for) was committed in the course of or be incidental to crime A.
What is a joint enterprise?
A joint enterprise is where two or more people are committing a crime together.
