Chpt 8: Inchoate Crimes- Attempt, Conspiracy, and Solicitation

extraneous factor

a condition beyond the attempter's control.

probable desistance test

a dangerous person test that focuses on how far defendants have gone, not on what's left for them to do to complete the crime.

conspiracy

agreeing to commit a crime

criminal conspiracy

agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime.

indispensable element test

asks whether defendant have gotten control of everything they need to complete the crime.

conspiracy actus reus

consists of two parts: (1)an agreement to commit a crime (in all states) and (2) an overt act in furtherance of the agreement (in about half the states)

offenses of general application

describes the inchoate crimes, which are partly general and partly specific.

unequivocality test (res ipsa loquiter test [the act speaks for itself])

examines the likelihood the defendant won't complete the crime.

substantial steps test (MPC test)

in the Model Penal Code, substantial acts toward completion of a crime and that strongly corroborate the actor's intent to commit the crime

Criminal attempt

intending to commit a crime and taking steps to complete it but something interrupts the completion of the crime's commission

solicitation mens rea

intent to get another person to commit a crime.

dangerous act rationale

looking at how closely a defendant came to completing a crime.

dangerous person rationale

looking at how fully a defendant developed a criminal purpose to commit a crime.

dangerous proximity to success test(physical proximity test)

looking at the seriousness of the offense intended; the closeness to completion of the crime; and the probability the conduct would actually have resulted in completion of the crime.

unilateral approach (in conspiracy)

not all the conspirators need to agree to commit a crime to impose criminal liability.

inchoate offenses

offenses based on crimes not yet completed.

wheel conspiracies

one or more defendants participate in every transaction.

chain conspiracies

participants at one end of the chain may know nothing of those at the other end, but every participant handles the same commodity at different points, such as manufacture, distribution, and sale.

overt act (in conspiracy)

requirement of conspiracy actus reus of some act toward completing the crime in addition to the agreement.

attempt mens rea

specific intent to commit a crime that's never completed.

conspiracy mens rea

specific intent to commit a crime, or specific intent to commit a legal act by illegal means.

attempt actus reus

steps taken to complete a crime that's never completed.

proximity tests

tests of dangerous conduct: physical proximity, dangerous proximity, and indispensable element.

defense of voluntary abandonment

the actor voluntarily and completely gives up his criminal purpose before completing the offense

criminal objective

the criminal goal of an agreement to commit a crime.

factual impossibility

the defense that some extraneous factor made it impossible to complete a crime.

legal impossibility

the defense that what the actor attempted was not a "crime"

solicitation

trying to get someone to commit a crime.

criminal solicitation

urging another person to commit a crime, even though the person doesn't respond to the urging.

solicitation actus reus

urging another person to commit a crime.

last proximate act rule

your acts brought you as close as possible to completing the crime.