Silence in this Lecture

1
Silence in this Lecture

• Please turn off your mobile
• Take notes
• Raise your hand if you have a question

No Food or Drink in this Classroom Please place
any litter in the bin. Leave your chair neatly
under the desk when leaving.
1
2
Parties to a Crime

• Chapter 12 of Criminal Law by Diana Roe
• Referred to by OCR as Participation.

PRECIS NOTES WILL BE CHECKED
2
3
Parties to a Crime

• In some cases more than one person will be
  involved in a crime.
• If two people jointly rob a bank they commit the
  offence together and are joint principals.
• However, if say I rob the bank and a student
  stays in the car to drive me away the student
  would be a secondary offender.

3
4
Parties to a Crime

• Secondary offenders can also be referred to as an
  accessory or an accomplice. Some old cases even
  class such an offender as a principal in the
  second degree.

4
5

• Under s8 Accessories and Abettors Act 1861 (as
  amended by the Criminal Law Act 1967)
• Whosoever shall aid, abet, counsel and procure
  the commission of an indictable offence shall
  be liable to be tried, indicted and punished as a
  principal offender.

Example of Bentley in the film Let Him Have it!
5
6

• Under s44 Magistrates Courts Act 1980 the same
  approach is taken with regard to summary
  offences.

6
7
Issues

• Despite such a legal position it can still be
  important to distinguish between principle
  offenders and accomplices.

1. It can be important for sentencing purposes.
2. The actus reus and mens rea of secondary offences
   is different.
3. For strict liability cases mens rea is still
   needed for secondary offenders.

7
8
The Principal Offender

• The test to decide whether an offender is a
  principal or secondary offender is to discover
  whether her/his/ act is the most immediate cause
  of the actus reus or whether s/he is merely
  helping the cause to be affected.

8
9
Innocent Agents

• Can anyone give an example of an innocent agent?
• Suppose that D send a bomb in the post to V and
  Postman Pat delivers the bomb is s/he the
  principal offender or an innocent agent?
• What would D be treated as in Court?

Answer Principal
9
10
Children and participation
Under s50 Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (as
amended) children under 10 are considered to be
doli incapax Under the Crime and Disorder Act
1998 children between 10 and 14 are now held to
be criminally liable for their actions.
10
11
The Different Types of Secondary Offender

• As per the Accessories and Abettors Act 1861
  secondary offenders are those who aid, abet,
  counsel or procure the commission of a crime.

To aid interpreted as to give help, support or
assistance. Think of an example To abet is
to encourage, incite or instigate. This is
normally at or near the scene of the crime
(unlike counsel which takes place before the
crime).
11
12
Aid and abet case law

• Aid and abet implies some sort of action.
• In Bland 1988 the court decided that merely
  living with a drugs dealer and perhaps having
  knowledge of his activities was not enough to
  incur liability. A more active involvement is
  required

Compare this with Wilcox v Jeffrey 1951 and
Tuck v Robson 1970
12
13
To counsel or procure

• An example of counselling can be seen in the case
  of Calaem 1985. Likewise, AGs Reference No 1 of
  1975 explains how procure was held to mean to
  produce by endeavour.

Break into Law Firms and undertake the
Participation Problem Scenario.
13
14
Summary of the issues

• A secondary offender can be charged with all four
  types of secondary participation.
• i.e. Aiding, abetting, counselling and procuring.
  
• S/he can be found guilty if just one is satisfied.

Normally, the accomplice will counsel and procure
before a crime is committed and aid and abet
during the course of an offence.
14
15
The actus reus of participation

• A passive presence at the scene would not, on its
  own, be enough to constitute liability.

In Clarkson 1971 the conviction of two soldiers
for abetting a rape was quashed because they had
not participated in any way.
15
16
Answer the below question

• Question for Students Can an accomplice withdraw
  without incurring liability?

The Answer Can be found in the cases of
Whitehouse 1941, Becerra and Cooper 1975,
Baker 1994 and Mitchell King 1999.
Students are asked to write up these case notes
and then give an answer in written form to the
above question (to be marked in class).
16
17
The mens rea of secondary offenders

• Two things need to be shown

1. That the accomplice had knowledge of the type
of crime to be committed.
2. S/he intended to aid, abet, counsel or procure
the principal offender
17
18
Knowledge that a crime is to be committed

• In Johnson v Youden and Others 1950 it was
  stated that before D can be convicted of aiding
  and abetting a criminal offence he must know at
  least the essential matters which constitute the
  offence.

18
19
Recklessness or Negligence?

• The law seems to be undecided so far as D being
  liable if s/he is merely reckless about whether a
  crime is committed.

In Blakely, Sutton v DPP 1991 there was a clear
rejection of Caldwell recklessness Likewise in
Callow v Tillstone 1900 liability due to
negligence is not sufficient. In class -
students should produce notes on these cases.
19
20
Intention to aid, abet, counsel or procure

• In addition to knowledge that a crime will be
  committed, the prosecution must also prove the
  accomplice intended to do the acts that assisted
  or encouraged the commission of the crime.
• See National Coal Board v Gamble 1959.

20
21
Joint Enterprise

• For the next class, students should précis 12.7.4
  of Criminal Law by Diana Roe.(page 254) -
  producing case notes as necessary.

When completed - give the notes to your Laws
Tutor who will briefly examine or mark your
notes.
21
22
Is motive relevant

• In class and in writing, students should
  undertake the Gillick contraception precis
  exercise

22
23
Assistance after the crime

• Only assistance before or during a crime can
  render a person liable as an accomplice.

However, you can commit a crime if you help
someone after a crime has been committed (think
of some examples).
23
24
Can a secondary offender be convicted if the
principal is acquitted?

• Yes, provided the actus reus has been committed .
  In Bourne 1952 a man forced his wife to have
  sexual intercourse with a dog. She was not
  charged with a criminal offence but her husband
  was convicted of aiding and abetting an illegal
  act.

24
25
Problem areas

• See also Cogan and Leak 1976 in which a man was
  found guilty of procuring the rape of his wife by
  a friend.
• A possible expansion of the law was seen in
  Millward 1994

Look at Millward 1994 and the earlier case of
Thornton v Mitchell 1940 (see textbook) why
the difference?
25
26
Different offences

• The liability of the secondary offender for a
  different offence to that of the principal
  offender is possible, provided both offences
  share the same actus reus (Dunbar 1988).

Example ... Murder and Manslaughter
What happened in Tyrell 1894 and why was the
accomplice not charged and convicted?
26
27
Review and Reform an important exam element

• Students should plan the following essay (it is
  in the homework schedule)
• The reform of the law relating to secondary
  offenders is long overdue. Please explain and
  discuss.

Produce a collective essay plan..
27
28
Activity and Self-assessment

• In class, undertake the activity on page 256 and
  the self-assessment questions on page 259 of
  Criminal Law by Diana Roe (3rd edition).

28
29
Important Participation Cases.

• Working in Law firms of three, produce a written
  list of what you agree are the six most important
  participation law cases (including joint
  enterprise cases) and explain why they are so
  important.
• For homework - update your notes on those 6 cases
  from a Criminal Law Cases and Materials Book
  (give to your Law Tutor within 7 days)..

29
30
For revision

• You must understand all the core principles and
  know the case law inside out.
• Copy the Key Facts table on page 257 of Criminal
  Law (3rd edition).
• Reform will be an essential element so you MUST
  read up on reform of this area.

30