Lord Parker CJ defined ‘attempt’ in criminal law: ‘What amounts to an attempt has been described variously in the authorities, and for my part I prefer to adopt the definition given in Stephen’s Digest of the Criminal Law, 5th Ed. (1894) art. 50, where it says that: ‘An attempt to commit a crime is an act done with intent to commit that crime, and forming part of a series of acts which would constitute its actual commission if it were not interrupted.’ As a general statement that seems to be right, although it does not help to define the point of time at which the series of acts begins. That, as Stephen said, depends upon the facts of each case. A helpful definition is given in paragraph 4104 in the current edition of Archbold’s Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice, where it is stated in this form: ‘It is submitted that the actus reus necessary to constitute an attempt is complete if the prisoner does an act which is a step towards the commission of a specific crime, which is immediately and not merely remotely connected with the commission of it, and the doing of which cannot reasonably be regarded as having any other purpose than the commission of the specific crime.”
Judges:
Lord Parker CJ
Citations:
[1968] 1 QB 366
Cited by:
Cited – Haughton v Smith, On Appeal From Regina v Smith (Roger) HL 21-Nov-1973
The defendant appealed against his conviction for attempting to handle stolen goods. They were to be delivered to him in a van, but the meat was intercepted and recovered by the police. The defendant argued that he should not be convicted of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 17 May 2022; Ref: scu.254526