Preliminary Offence: Attempt Flashcards
What is attempt?
-an attempt occurs where a person with the relevant mens rea does an act which is more than merely preparatory to the commission of an offence.
-contained under Section 1 of the Criminal Attempt Act 1981.
-an attempt charge can only be brought if the full offence is either indictable or an either-way offence charged via indictment (basically attempt only valid for serious offences)
What must the prosecution prove?
-person does an act which is more than merely preparatory to the commission of an offence.
-with intent to commit that offence.
What are cases regarding the actus reus of attempt?
-AGR 1992: D need not have performed the last act before the crime proper, not need he/she have reached the ‘point of no return’.
-GULLEFER:COA held that ‘more than merely preparatory’ means that the defendant must’ve gone beyond purely preparatory acts and be ‘embarked on the crime proper’
-GEDDES: D must be trying to commit the full offence.
What is the mens rea of attempt?
EASOM:prosecution must prove that D had the intention.
AGR 1979:if D had conditional intent (has a general intent but dependent on circumstances), it fulfills MR for attempt.
What about the MR for attempted murder?
-the MR for attempted murder involves proving a higher level of intention than for the full offence of murder.
-for attempted murder, the prosecution must prove an intention to kill.
WHYBROW:needs to be an intention to kill.
VERNON:recklessness is not sufficient MR for an attempt
What about an offence that is impossible to commit?
-a person may intend to commit an offence, and may do everything he/she possibly can to commit it, but in fact the offence is impossible to commit.
-SHIVPURI:D is guilty even if the full offence is legally, physically impossible.
