Criminal Law and Procedure Chapter 5

4 Elements of Attempt

". . . intent to commit it, • an overt act toward its commission, • failure of consummation, • and the apparent possibility of a commission."

What is bootstrapping?

A circular, self-sustaining process.

What are the Wharton's Rules

A conspiracy cannot occur when two persons are required for the commission

What is the Pinkerton Rule?

A defendant can be charged both with the crime of conspiracy and the completed offense.

What is inherent impossibility?

A defense to a crime of attempt in which the means the defendant employs to complete the crime are completely implausible and inappropriate.

What is legal impossibility?

A defense to the crime of attempt. The action the defendant intends to perform is not a crime, even if completed.

What is the corrupt motives doctrine?

A requirement in some states that defendants have a corrupt motive in order to commit the crime of conspiracy.

What is an overt act?

A voluntary action taken by the defendant in furtherance of the crime of conspiracy.

What are the defenses for conspiracy?

Abandonment Impossibility Withdrawal Wharton's Rule

What are the elements to conspiracy?

An agreement reached to commit a crime, with some states also

Define Attempt

An inchoate offense in which the defendant has the specific intent to commit the underlying offense and takes some action in furtherance of that intent, but is unsuccessful in completing the crime.

What is hearsay?

An out-of-court statement offered as evidence for the truth of the matter asserted.

What are the Three Main Areas of Inchoate Crimes

Attempt Conspiracy Solicitation

What are conduct crimes?

Conduct crimes do not require any end result, just the conduct in question. * It would be easier to hold someone liable for an attempted conduct crime because there is no requirement that the defendant desire some end result apart from the criminal act itself.

What you should know about Attempt

Criminal attempt is, in most instances, "an adjunct crime; it cannot exist by itself, but only in connection with another crime." 4 This does not mean the other crime (e.g., robbery) must be completed, but rather that there is no crime of attempt that is not linked to some other substantive crime.

What is factual impossibility?

Extraneous circumstances prevent the defendant from completing the intended crime.

What are the defenses to attempt?

Impossibility: it is impossible to commit the attempt Abandonment: Complete and voluntary change of heart

Define an inchoate crime

In an initial or early stage; incipient. Imperfectly formed or developed The crime is not finished. Ex. Paying someone to kill your husband

Examples of Actus Reus Tests for Attempt

Last Act: actual action of the crime: The offender committed the last act necessary to complete the target crime. Physical Proximity: The offender is "nearly able" to complete the crime Indispensable Element (if missing no actus reus): The offender's conduct is in "dangerous proximity to success." Probable Desistance: Unlikely the offender will stop his activities towards commission of the crime Unequivocally: A normal law abiding citizen views the offender's actions as criminal MPC Substantial Step: Offender takes a substantial step that corroborates the criminal purposed

What are the diffrent types of conspiracy?

Spoke and Wheel: one central actor (the hub) had control of all aspects of the conspiracy, while the others (the spokes) only control one aspect Chain: The individuals at one end of the conspiracy are not aware of the individuals at the end. Wheel and Chain: A conspiracy with attributes of both the spoke and wheel and chain conspiracies. Ex. drugs Mafia boss, connected to the following: runs gambling ring, bribes police, run prostitution ring...etc

Why punish people for uncompleted crimes?

Untold numbers of crimes are started or set in motion, but never completed. But just because they are not completed, should we turn a blind eye? • It would be unfair to let an otherwise guilty person go free simply because she failed to complete the intended crime. • Penalizing "incomplete" crime allows the criminal justice system to be more proactive instead of reactive; without being able to prosecute certain offenders for what they plan or try to do, we would be forced to wait around until the damage was already done.

What are result crimes?

result crimes require actual harm. Murder is the con-summate example; without a death, the crime does not occur.

What is the corruptive motive doctrine?

some states require that the agreement had an evil purpose in order to commit conspiracy

Define solicitation

Words, commanding or urging the commission of a crime + specific intent= Solicitation Solicitation occurs when a person entices, advise, incites, orders, or otherwise encourage someone else to commit the crime For solicitation there is no requirement that the crime actually be completely Solicitation is typically limited to felonies or misdemeanors that involve either obstruction of justice or breach of peace Solicitation does not occur if one person uses another as an "innocent instrumentality" in the commission of a crime. Solicitation (offer to commit the crime) is distinguished from conspiracy (agreement to commit the crime). In general, solicitation is an attempted conspiracy.