Inchoate Crimes Flashcards
What is solicitation?
This is specific intent.
A common law misdemeanor including enticing, advising, inciting, inducing, urging, or otherwise encouraging another to commit a felony or breach of the peace.
The MPC include requesting another to commit any offense.
There must be intent that the solicitee perform criminal acts. Mere approval is not enough.
It is complete at the time the solicitation is made. There can be no withdraw.
If the solicitee does commit the target offense the solicitation merges into that offense and the solicitor is charged as an accomplice, not with solicitation.
What are defenses to solicitation?
At common law, there were no defenses to solicitation if the elements were present.
Under modern statutes, specific intent defenses such as voluntary intoxication and unreasonable mistake of fact are legitimate defenses.
Impossibility is no defense to solicitation.
Withdrawal is no defense.
What is attempt?
This is specific intent.
Attempt consists of two elements:
- A specific intent to bring about a criminal result; and
- a significant overt act in furtherance of that intent.
Attempt merges into the target crime.
The significant overt act must be an act beyond an act of mere preparation. At common law, a D was required to have performed the last act necessary to achieve the intended result. Under modern law, many courts use the proximity test; that is, how close in time and distance a D is to the time and place of the target crime. Some courts use the equivocality test; that is, D’s conduct be such that it can have no other purpose than the commission of the crime attempted. The MPC only request an act that constitutes a substantial step toward the offense that corroborates the criminal intent.
What are defenses to attempt?
- Abandonment:
At common law, abandonment is not a defense to attempt once the attempt is complete.
Modernly, a majority recognize a voluntary and complete abandonment as a defense. Voluntary means a true change of heart, and complete means that the D is not merely postponing the commission of the crime.
Legal Impossibility:
It is a defense to attempt. It is when the D believed that his acts were a crime but were not.
Factual Impossibility:
It is not a defense to attempt. It is a D would have committed the target offense had the facts been as he believed them to be.
What is conspiracy?
This is specific intent.
An agreement between two or more people with the intent to agree and the specific intent to commit an unlawful act or a lawful act by unlawful means.
There is an overt act requirement:
Majority rule states that an over act in furtherance of the conspiracy is required. Generally, it is beginning preparation. At common law, there was no overt act requirement.
Conspiracy does not merge upon completion of the target crime.
There is co-conspirator liability under accomplice liability.
Under the Pinkerton Doctrine (majority rule), each conspirator is liable for the crimes of all the other co-conspirators where the crimes were both:
- a foreseeable outgrowth of the conspiracy; and
- committed in furtherance of the conspiratorial goal.
The nature of the agreement determines whether there is a single conspiracy or multiple conspiracy. In a chain relationship, where several crimes are committed under one large scheme in which each member explicitly or implicitly knows of the other parties’ participation and a community of interest exists, one single conspiracy. In a hub and spoke relationship, where one common member enters into agreements to commit a series of independent crimes with different individuals: multiple conspiracies exist.
What are some procedural issues of conspiracy?
An acquittal of one co-conspirator results in the acquittal of a single remaining co-conspirator. However, one conspirator may be tried.
At common law, no conspiracy exists if only one of the conspirators truly agrees and the other conspirator feign agreement.
The MPC follows the unilateral approach and dispenses with the requirement that two people actually agree.
Under the Wharton rule, in crimes where two or more people are necessary for the commission of the offense, there is no conspiracy unless the agreement involves an additional person who is not essential to the crime.
What are defenses to conspiracy?
Impossibility
It is not a defense to conspiracy.
Withdrawal
Generally, withdrawal is not a defense when the parties agree and an overt act has been committed.
However, withdrawal may cut off further liability if the co-conspirator communicates his withdrawal to each co-conspirator in a timely manner. This is the common law and MPC rule
Renunciation
The MPC also recognizes renunciation.
To renunciate for the conspiracy charge itself, there must be timely, communicated withdrawal and performs some affirmative act to thwart the success of the conspiracy.
