4. Inchoate Crimes

Question 1

What is solicitation?

Answer 1

1. Specific Intent – The defendant had a purpose or intent for another person to commit a crime.
2. Encouragement or Command – The defendant requested, commanded, or encouraged another person to commit a felony.
3. Uncompleted Crime – The solicited crime does not need to be completed; the mere act of solicitation is criminal.

Question 2

what does solicitation require in Georgia?

Answer 2

Under Georgia law, solicitation requires that the target offense be a felony.

Question 3

Defense to Solitication in Georgia

Answer 3

1. Lack of Intent: If the defendant was joking or did not actually intend for the crime to occur.
2. No Encouragement or Command: If the defendant merely discussed a crime but did not actively encourage or request it.
3. Renunciation: If the defendant voluntarily and completely renounced the solicitation before any criminal act took place and attempted to prevent the crime.

Question 4

Criminal Attempt

Answer 4

To prove criminal attempt, the prosecution must establish:

1. Intent – The defendant must have had the specific intent to commit a specific crime.
2. Overt Act – The defendant took a substantial step toward committing the crime.
3. Failure to Complete the Crime – The intended crime was not successfully completed.

Mere preparation is not enough—the defendant must have acted in a way that would lead to the crime if not interrupted.

Question 5

Defenses to Criminal Attempt

Answer 5

1. Impossibility is NOT a Defense: Even if the crime was impossible to complete (e.g., the gun was unloaded in an attempted murder), the person can still be convicted.
2. Abandonment/Renunciation: If the defendant voluntarily and completely abandons the attempt before committing the crime and prevents it from happening, they may have a defense.

Question 6

Criminal Conspiracy

Answer 6

Under Georgia law, a person commits criminal conspiracy when two or more people agree to commit a crime, and at least one of them takes an overt act to further that crime.

Question 7

Can a defendant be convicted of both the Conspiracy and the completed crime in Georgia

Answer 7

No. The defendant CANNOT be convicted of both the conspiracy and the completed crime.

Question 8

Defenses to Criminal Conspiracy

Answer 8

1. No Agreement – If there was no actual agreement, there is no conspiracy.
2. Withdrawal/Renunciation– A defendant who withdraws from the conspiracy and prevents the crime from happening can use renunciation as a defense.
3. No Overt Act – If no one involved takes an actual step toward committing the crime, there is no conspiracy.

Question 9

Pinkerton Doctrine

Answer 9

one member of a conspiracy is liable for the crimes of her coconspirators if those crimes were foreseeable and committed in furtherance of the conspiracy’s objective. Even if the
co-conspirator is not present and took no physical part in the crime, she still can be held liable under this standard.