Ch. 7 - Attempt, Conspiracy, and Solicitation

What are the three elements necessary to be convicted of attempt?

(1) an intent or purpose to commit a crime (2) an act or acts towards the commission of the crime, and (3) a failure to complete the crime

What is required for the actus reus of conspiracy?

(1) entering into an agreement to commit a crime (2) under some statues, an act in furtherance of the agreement

What are the two parts of mens rea in an attempt?

(1) intentionally performing acts that are proximate to the cause of a crime (2) a specific intent or purpose to achieve a criminal objective

What are important details about the conspiracy laws?

-conspiracy usually requires an affirmative action towards the crime in order to be prosecutable -conspiracy and the act itself are separate crimes -the Pinkerton rule means that individuals in a conspiracy are also responsible for everything else committed by the members of the conspiracy

What are some examples of acts that constitute attempt under the Substantial Step Test?

-lying in wait, following, or searching for contemplated victim of a crime -enticing victim to go to contemplated place for commission -surveillance of site of contemplated crime -unlawful entry to building/vehicle that is site of contemplated crime -possession of materials specifically designated for the commission of a crime -soliciting an individual to engage in conduct constituting a crime

What are the three types of inchoate crimes?

1) *Attempt*- Something stopped the crime, but you were going to do it 2) *Solicitation*- persuading another individual to commit a crime 3) *Conspiracy*- Two or more persons plan for the commission of a crime and commit an act towards carrying it out

What are three reasons to punish conspiracy?

1. *Intervention*- protecting society by arresting people before they commit a dangerous crime 2. *Group Activity*- crimes committed by groups have a greater potential to cause social harm 3. *Deterrence*- group pressure makes it unlikely that conspirators will be deterred from carrying out the agreement

What are two reasons for recognizing abandonment as free from criminal liability?

1. *Lack of purpose*- an individual who abandons lacks a firm commitment to complete the crime and should be permitted to avoid punishment 2. *Incentive to renounce crime*- defense of abandonment provides an incentive for individuals to renounce criminal conduct before completing the crime

What are the justifications for punishing attempts?

1. *Retribution*- intent to commit a crime and actions towards committing a crime are morally blameworthy 2. *Utility (Deterrence)*- lesser punishment for attempt provides an incentive to halt before committing a criminal action and receiving a harsher sentence 3. *Incapacitation*- individual has demonstrated that he or she is a threat to society

What are the trade-offs of early/late intervention?

Early- stop crimes but may convict someone who would not actually have completed a crime Late- the focus is on serious attempts but risk allowing crimes to happen

What is Kadish's argument about luck and the harm doctrine?

He says that punishing attempts and impossibility less seriously does not make any sense because you are rewarding people for the luck of not committing their intended act -there is still intent to retribution should be the same -need punishment as a deterrence- having a gap between attempts and committed crimes sends the wrong signal about the purpose of criminal law

plurality requirement

The logical and legal requirement that a conspiracy must involve two or more parties.

What is the important distinction between the objective and subjective approaches?

The objective approach stresses the danger posed by a *defendant's acts* while the subjective approach focused on the danger posed *to society* by a defendant who *possesses a criminal intent*

extraneous factor

a circumstance that is not created by a defendant that prevents the completion of a criminal act

Wheel Conspiracy

a conspiracy in which a single individual or individuals serve as a hub that is connected to various individuals or spokes -can all share single goal in single conspiracy or may have many goals and multiple conspiracies

chain conspiracy

a conspiracy in which defendants are linked in a vertical chain to achieve a criminal objective -crimes for narcotics and other contraband

Factual Impossibility

a criminal act is prevented from being completed because of an extraneous factor -possesses criminal intent and takes act towards the crime

preparation

acts taken to prepare for committing a crime

Physical Proximity Test

an act constituting an attempt must be physically proximate to the completion of the crime -objective approach -must possess immediate ability to complete the crime

overt act

an act in furtherance of an agreement is required under most modern conspiracy statutes -the act does not have to be close to the commission of the act- it can be anything evenly remotely close to an action towards the act

inherent impossibility

an act that is incapable of achieving the desired result (ex. harming a voodoo doll will not actually result in death)

Wharton's rule

an agreement by two persons to engage in a criminal act that requires the involvement of two persons cannot constitute a conspiracy -e.g. adultery, bribery, dueling, etc. -conspiracies can be charged for groups larger than two or for groups not directly involved in the act

conspiracy

an agreement to commit a crime; various state statutes require an overt act in furtherance of this purpose

incomplete attempt

an individual abandons or is prevented from completing an attempt due to an extraneous or intervening factor (ex. police show up)

complete attempt

an individual takes every act required to commit a crime and fails to succeed (ex. shooting gun but missing)

abandonment

an individual who completely and voluntarily renounces his or her criminal purpose is not liable for an attempt. Abandonment as a result of outside of extraneous factors does not constitute a defense

Gebardi Rule

an individual who is excluded from liability under a criminal statute may not be held legally liable as a conspirator to violate the law

unilateral

an individual with the intent to enter into a conspiratorial agreement is guilty regardless of the intent of the other party -allows for prosecuting individuals who may still be dangerous to society -could be misused

attempt (criminal attempt)

an intent or purpose to commit a crime, an act or acts towards the commission of a crime, or a failure to commit a crime

last step approach

common law approach to attempt that requires the last step to the completion of a crime (ex. pulling the trigger on a gun in order to be convicted of attempted murder)

inchoate crimes

crimes that are committed before or in preparation for committing another crime

subjective approach to criminal attempt

focuses on an individual's intent rather than on his or her acts -based on the belief that society should intervene as soon as someone who possesses a criminal intent takes a step towards committing the crime

What is the mens rea of conspiracy?

intent to achieve the object of the agreement -usually employs purpose standard rather than knowledge standard, meaning that there must be specific intent rather than general intent

Legal Impossibility

occurs when actors intend to commit crimes, and do everything they can to carry out their criminal intent, but the criminal law doesn't ban what they did -a mistake concerning the facts *is not* a defense but a mistake concerning the law *is* a defense

Impossible attempt

perpetrator makes a mistake so the crime could not happen (ex. shooting a gun that is not loaded)

objective approach to criminal attempt

requires an act that is very close to the completion of the crime -distinguishes preparation for a crime from acts taken to perpetrate it

Substantial Step Test

the Model Penal Code approach stating that there must be *a clear step toward the commission of a crime* that is *not required to be immediately proximate to the crime itself.* The act must be committed under circumstances *strongly corroborative of an intent to commit a crime* -concern is with detaining dangerous individuals rather than waiting until the almost commit a dangerous act

bilateral

there must be an agreement between at least two persons with the intent to achieve a common criminal objective -if one person does not have specific mens rea, no conspiracy -if one person cleared of charges, so is the other person