W8 - Attempts

Question 1

s1(1) Criminal Attempts Act 1981

Answer 1

AR= to do an act which is more than merely preparatory towards the commission of the offence
MR = intent to commit the offence

All indictable offences can be the subject of an attempt charge, except attempting to be an accomplice (though you can be an accomplice to an attempt)

Question 2

AR

Answer 2

• cannot attempt to do something by omission (must be positive act)
• attempt begins when ‘the merely preparatory acts come to an end and D embarks on the crime proper’ (Gullefer)
• depends on the facts => ultimately a matter for the jury (s4(3))
• ‘embarked on the crime proper’ - getting into car and pointing gun (Jones); or attempting to smuggle a package past border control (Shivpuri)
• ‘merely preparatory acts’ - trespassing and hiding (Geddes); or running onto track to prevent race (Gullefer)

Question 3

MR

Answer 3

• intention to bring about the full consequences required to commit the offence aka intention to achieve what is missing from the full offence (AG’s ref No 3 of 1992) => can be reckless as to ulterior intent
• attempted murder must be intention to kill, not just intention to cause GBH (Whybrow)
• recklessness is not enough for attempted criminal damage, there must be intent as to property being damaged, though can be recklessness to eg whether the property belongs to another (Millard and Vernon)
• Conditional intent is sufficient to create the MR (A-G’s ref nos 1 and 2 of 1979)
• where the crime is feasible but D is incompetent or chose an impossible method, that is still an attempt (s1(2); Shivpuri)
• impossibility in fact because of physical impossibility (eg trying to kill a dead person) or legal impossibility (eg trying to damage your own car) is not a defence to an attempt )(s1(2) and s1(3)) => guilty if, on facts which he believed to be true, he would have such intent