What is meant by attempting the impossible?

It describes a defendant who tries to commit an offence that cannot in fact be committed, because the intended victim, property or means make completion impossible.

Give an example of factual impossibility that is still an attempt.

Putting a hand into an empty pocket intending to steal a wallet is attempted theft, because on the facts as the defendant believed them the offence would have been committed.

Explain why stabbing a pillow in the belief that a person lies beneath it can be attempted murder.

On the facts as the defendant believed them the act would have killed, so both the intention and an act beyond preparation are present.

WJEC A-Level Law 603-1978-1

Law Making in Wales and the UK

Topic overview Legal rules, sources of law and the rule of law Parliamentary sovereignty, the separation of powers and the Royal Prerogative The composition and role of Parliament The legislative process at Westminster The Senedd and law making in Wales The devolution settlement and the role of the Supreme Court Influences on law making and law reform

Delegated Legislation

Topic overview The nature and authority of delegated legislation Statutory instruments By-laws and Orders in Council Delegated legislation in Wales and the devolution settlement Parliamentary controls on delegated legislation Control by the courts and judicial review Reasons for delegated legislation and its advantages and disadvantages

Statutory Interpretation

Topic overview The need for statutory interpretation The literal rule The golden rule The mischief rule The purposive approach and European influence Rules of language, presumptions and intrinsic aids Extrinsic aids, the Human Rights Act 1998 and evaluating the approaches

Judicial Precedent

Topic overview The doctrine of precedent and stare decisis Ratio decidendi and obiter dicta Binding and persuasive precedent The hierarchy of the courts in England and Wales The Supreme Court and the Practice Statement Overruling, reversing and distinguishing Advantages and disadvantages of precedent

The Civil Courts and Dispute Resolution

Topic overview Civil liability, civil claims and the civil process The structure and jurisdiction of the civil courts Appeals in civil cases Juries in civil cases Tribunals Arbitration Mediation, conciliation and negotiation

The Criminal Process and the Criminal Courts

Topic overview Classification of offences and the criminal process The magistrates' courts and the Crown Court Appeals in criminal cases The jury at trial: verdicts, secrecy and the coroner's jury Criticisms of and alternatives to the jury system The aims and theories of sentencing Sentencing powers and the sentencing of youths

Legal Personnel and the Judiciary

Topic overview Barristers: training, role and rights of audience Solicitors: training, role and work Legal executives and paralegals Regulation of the legal professions and the fusion debate The judiciary: hierarchy, role and selection Judicial independence, the rule of law and the constitutional position Lay magistrates and district judges

Access to Justice and Funding

Topic overview Access to justice and the development of legal aid Civil legal aid: scope and services Means testing, merits testing and the statutory charge Criminal legal aid and the Public Defender Service Conditional fee agreements and private funding Advice agencies and other sources of help Evaluating access to justice after the 2012 reforms

Tort: Rules and Theory

Topic overview The nature and origins of the law of tort Categories of tort and the interests protected Fault and strict liability Corrective justice and the economic justification Retributive and distributive justice in tort Theories of justice and the balancing of interests Criticisms of the tort system Reform and alternatives to tort

Tort: Negligence

Topic overview Duty of care and the neighbour principle The Caparo test and the modern approach Breach of duty and the reasonable man Factors affecting the standard of care Causation in fact and in law Remoteness of damage and the thin skull rule Psychiatric injury: primary and secondary victims

Tort: Occupiers' Liability

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Tort: Remedies

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Human Rights: Rules and TheoryHuman rights

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Human Rights: Key Convention ProvisionsHuman rights

Topic overview Article 8 and the scope of private and family life, home and correspondence Negative and positive obligations under Article 8 Article 8(2) and the justification of an interference Article 10 and the right to freedom of expression Article 11 and freedom of peaceful assembly and association Balancing Article 8 against Article 10 Evaluating the qualified rights and their exceptions

Human Rights: RestrictionsHuman rights

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Human Rights: EnforcementHuman rights

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Human Rights: Protection and ReformHuman rights

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Contract: Rules and TheoryContract

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Contract: FormationContract

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Contract: TermsContract

Topic overview Representations and terms Express terms, incorporation and the parol evidence rule Implied terms Conditions, warranties and innominate terms Exclusion clauses and their construction Statutory control of exclusion and unfair terms Evaluating the law on contract terms

Contract: Misrepresentation and DuressContract

Topic overview Actionable misrepresentation and the elements of a claim Fraudulent misrepresentation Negligent misrepresentation and the Misrepresentation Act 1967 Innocent misrepresentation, rescission and its bars Economic duress Duress to the person and undue influence distinguished Evaluating misrepresentation and duress

Contract: DischargeContract

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Contract: RemediesContract

Topic overview The aim of damages and the measure of loss Causation and remoteness of damage Mitigation, agreed damages and penalties Rescission and rectification Specific performance Injunctions and the limits of equitable relief Evaluating the law of contractual remedies

Criminal Law: Rules and TheoryCriminal

Topic overview The definition of crime and the purposes of criminal law Burden and standard of proof The Crown Prosecution Service, the Attorney General and the DPP Bail and remand in custody The trial process, youth justice and appeals Law and morality, law and justice in the criminal law Codification and the case for reforming criminal law

Criminal Law: General Elements of LiabilityCriminal

Topic overview Actus reus and the requirement of a voluntary act Liability for omissions Mens rea: intention Mens rea: recklessness and negligence Factual and legal causation Strict liability Evaluating fault, strict liability and the general principles

Criminal Law: Offences Against the PersonCriminal

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Criminal Law: Property OffencesCriminal

Topic overview Theft: appropriation and property Theft: belonging to another Theft: dishonesty and intention permanently to deprive Robbery under section 8 of the Theft Act 1968 Burglary: entry, trespass and buildings Burglary under sections 9(1)(a) and 9(1)(b), and aggravated burglary Evaluating the law on theft, robbery and burglary

Criminal Law: DefencesCriminal

Topic overview Insanity and the M'Naghten Rules Automatism: insane and non-insane Intoxication by alcohol and by drugs Self-defence and the prevention of crime Duress by threats Duress of circumstances and necessity Evaluating the capacity and necessity defences

Criminal Law: Preliminary OffencesCriminal

Topic overview Attempt: the statutory definition and its scope The actus reus: acts more than merely preparatory Applying the more than merely preparatory test to the cases The mens rea of attempt Attempting the impossible Attempt, the completed offence and abandonment Evaluating the law on attempts and proposals for reform

Criminal Law: Preliminary Offences

Attempting the impossible

3 things to know
A2 Units 3 and 4

Overview

Attempting the impossible, factual impossibility that is still an attempt and conduct that a defendant wrongly believes to be criminal.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

Distinguish factual impossibility from legal impossibility.

Key term

What does the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 provide about impossibility?

Key term

How are the defendant's beliefs treated where the facts make the offence impossible?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is meant by attempting the impossible?
Model answer
It describes a defendant who tries to commit an offence that cannot in fact be committed, because the intended victim, property or means make completion impossible.
2
Distinguish factual impossibility from legal impossibility.
Model answer
Factual impossibility is where the facts make the offence unachievable, such as an empty pocket, while legal impossibility is where the conduct intended would not be a crime at all.
3
What does the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 provide about impossibility?
Model answer
A person may be guilty of an attempt even though the facts are such that the commission of the offence is impossible.
4
How are the defendant's beliefs treated where the facts make the offence impossible?
Model answer
The defendant is judged on the facts as they believed them to be, so a person who believes they are handling stolen goods intends the offence even though the goods are not stolen.
5
Give an example of factual impossibility that is still an attempt.
Model answer
Putting a hand into an empty pocket intending to steal a wallet is attempted theft, because on the facts as the defendant believed them the offence would have been committed.
6
Explain why stabbing a pillow in the belief that a person lies beneath it can be attempted murder.
Model answer
On the facts as the defendant believed them the act would have killed, so both the intention and an act beyond preparation are present.

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Law Making in Wales and the UK

Delegated Legislation

Statutory Interpretation

Judicial Precedent

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AThe defendant owed the victim a duty of care and breached it.

BThe breach carried a reasonably foreseeable risk of death.

CThe breach caused the death.

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