attempts and impossibility

• definition

  s1. criminal attempts act 1981 if with intent to commit an offence, a person does an act which is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence, he is guilty of attempting to commit an offence
• r v white

  attempted offence where person fails to complete the intended offence
• actus reus

  more than merely preparatory
• ags ref no1 1993

  d need not have performed the last act
• guellefer 1987

  d must embark on the crime proper to be guilty of attempt
• geddes- 2 part test

  has d actually tried to commit the offence in question

  1. has d moved from planning/preparation to implementation?
  2. has d done an act showing he was trying to commit the full offence?
• campbell

  actions must be more than merely preparatory
• jones

  must be sufficient evidence for jury to question if d guilty of attempt
• mens rea

  intent to commit the offence
• easom

  d must have intention to commit offence
• R v Millard and Vernon

  Recklessness is not sufficient for an attempt
• mens rea - attempted murder

  p must prove an intent to kill (intent to cause gbh isn't enough for a murder conviction)
• whybrow

  must be intent to kill for attempted murder
• walker and hayles

  attempted murder can be committed with the mr of oblique intent to kill (woollin)
• impossibility

  criminal attempts act 1981

  a person may be guilty of attempting to commit an offence even though the facts are such that the commission of the offence is impossible
• legal impossibility

  what d is trying to commit is not an offence known to law
• r v taaffe

  irrelevant whether or not d thought they were committing a crime
• factual impossiblity

  what d attempts is an offence known to law, but the circumstances surrounding the attempt make it impossible to commit
• shivpuri

  D can be guilty of an offence even if it would be factually or legally impossible
• r v jones

  they will be convicted under s1(2) even if impossible to commit crime