Inchoate Crimes

Question 1

Key Point

Answer 1

all inchoate crimes require the specific intent to commit the target offense

there are incomplete crimes

Question 2

Solicitation: Rule

Answer 2

a) Solicitation is the crime of trying to get someone to commit your crime
i) The key to solicitation is a communication

Rule: Enticing, advising, inciting, inducing, urging, or otherwise encouraging another to commit the target offense

 i) Common Law: Misdemeanor, and the crime solicited had to be a felony or peace breach
 ii) Modern Law: Broader; includes requesting another to commit any offense

Question 3

Solicitation: Intent

Answer 3

c) Intent: The solicitor must intend the solicitee to perform criminal acts

d) The offense is complete at the time the solicitation is made
i) Once the solicitation is communicated, it is a crime
ii) The solicitor cannot withdraw from solicitation

e) No requirement that the solicitee commit the offense BUT if they do (or attempt to), the solicitation MERGES into that offense, and the solicitor will be charged as an accomplice, not with solicitation

Question 4

Attempt: Definition

Answer 4

Attempt is the crime of “almost” committing a crime

i) The key is evidence that the defendant crossed the line from preparation to perpetration

Question 5

Attempt: Two Elements

Answer 5

i) specific intent or purpose to bring about the criminal result; AND

ii) a significant overt act in furtherance of that intent that proves the defendant went past the point of preparation and began perpetration
(1) Common Law: The defendant was required to perform the last act necessary to achieve the intended result
(2) MPC: Acts prior are sufficient as long as they are a “substantial step” toward the commission that indicates a purpose to complete or attempt has been made
(3) Proximity Test (Many Jurisdictions): Looks at how close in time and physical distance the defendant was to the time and place that the target crime was to be committed
(4) Equivocality Test (Some Jurisdictions): The defendant’s conduct unequivocally indicates they were going to complete the target offense

EXAMPLE: At common law, the defendant would have to pull the trigger to be guilty of attempted murder. Today, loading bullets while in proximity to an intended victim with clear
line of sight would be sufficient

Question 6

What are the defenses to Attempt? (3)

Answer 6

i) Abandonment
(1) Common Law: No defense once the attempt was complete (moved from preparation to perpetration)
(2) MPC: Voluntary, complete abandonment is a defense

ii) Legal Impossibility
(1) Not guilty if the defendant thought they committed a crime, but the act was not criminal

iii) Factual Impossibility
(1) A defendant will be guilty of attempt if the defendant would have committed the offense had the facts been as they believed them to be
(2) EXAMPLE: A defendant, thinking that a gun works, points it at the victim and pulls the trigger. However, the gun is jammed and does not work. The defendant will be guilty of attempted murder

Question 7

Conspiracy: Rule

Answer 7

Conspiracy is the crime of planning to commit crime with someone else
i) The key is evidence that the defendants crossed the line from thinking about the crime to collective preparation to commit the crime

Rule: Agreement to create an unlawful criminal combination between two or more persons with the intent to agree and the specific intent (purpose) to commit an unlawful act

Question 8

Conspiracy: Overt Act Requirement

Answer 8

i) Common Law: Overt act was not required; the agreement itself was the crime

ii) Modern Law: Requires an overt act in furtherance of conspiracy
(1) Beginning preparation to commit the crime is all that is required; the act can be very trivial (unlike the requirement in attempt, where it must go beyond preparation to beginning perpetration)

Question 9

Conspiracy: Co-Conspirator Liability/Pinkerton Rule

Answer 9

Each co-conspirator is liable for the crimes of all other co-conspirators where the crimes were both:

 (1) a foreseeable outgrowth of the conspiracy (i.e., the murder of a guard); and
 (2) committed in furtherance of the conspiratorial goal

Question 10

Conspiracy: Procedural Issues

Answer 10

i) Common Law: If there are only two conspirators, the acquittal of one co-conspirator required the acquittal of the other, because the conspiracy needs two persons
ii) MPC: Allows for unilateral conspiracies, which permits the conviction of a single party when the other feigned agreement or is acquitted

Question 11

What are the defenses for Conspiracy? (2)

Answer 11

i) Withdrawal
(1) Applies in both common law and MPC jurisdictions
(2) A complete and voluntary withdrawal severs liability for future crimes, but is no defense to the charge of conspiracy itself
(3) Requires notice to all conspirators

ii) Renunciation
(1) Applies in MPC jurisdictions only
(2) Withdrawal plus an affirmative act to thwart the conspiracy can eliminate liability for the conspiracy