Inchoate Offenses Flashcards
Attempt Elements
Person Must:
- perform a substantial step towards commission of the crime,
- with intent to commit the crime.
VA Attempt Elements
Attempt is:
- A direct act,
- That was done with intent to commit a crime,
- but which falls short of completing the crime.
Possible Attempt Defenses
- Abandonment of attempt is no defense
- Impossibility of success
Unintentional Crimes and Attempt
A defendant cannot attempt unintentional crimes. That means that there are no attempt versions of:
- reckless crimes
- negligent crimes
- felony murder
Intent Elements for Attempts
- intent to complete the conduct constituting the attempted crime, and
- any intent necessary for attempted crime
Impossibility Defense
- “Legal” impossibility is a defense.
- Def: attempting something thinking it’s a crime but it turns out not to be
- “Factual” impossibility is NOT a defense.
- Def: can’t complete a crime because the facts are different than intended
Impossibility vs. Mistake of Fact and Law
- Impossibility situations all involve mistaken beliefs by the defendants that the attempts will be successful
- MoF-mistaken fact caused you to commit a crime and MoL- you thought it wasn’t legal due to previous statute
- the impossibility defense applies only in attempt prosecutions
- MoF/MoL applies in many offenses
Factual Impossibility
- It will be impossible for D to:
- perform the conduct she has set out to perform; or
- cause the result she has set out to cause
- BUT D mistakenly believes she will be successful.
- D has no impossibility defense and is guilty of attempt.
Legal Impossibility
- D’s intended conduct would not constitute a crime if completed.
- But D thinks it would be a crime because D is mistaken about the criminal law.
- This is legal impossibility. D has a defense and is not guilty of attempt.
SItuations where D is Mistaken about Circumstances
- D’s intended conduct if completed would not constitute a crime, because one of the circumstances is not what is required for the crime.
- BUT D is mistaken about this circumstance.
- If the circumstance was as D believed it to be, her intended conduct would constitute a crime.
- This is factual impossibility. D has no defense and is guilty of attempt.
- But some courts characterize it as legal impossibility
Solicitation Elements
- asking someone to commit an offense;
- with intent that the person commit that offense.
Rejected Solicitation
Solicitation is a crime even if it is immediately rejected.
Conspiracy Elements
- entering into an agreement to commit a crime; and
- with the intent that the crime be committed.
Conspiracy Overt Act Requirement
Modern statutes often require an overt act in furtherance by one member of the group.
Conspiracy Defenses
- withdrawal
- no “meeting of minds” (acquittal of co-conspirators)
- impossibility (not a defense)
Co-Conspirator Rule
All members of a criminal conspiracy are guilty of crimes committed by other members of that conspiracy if those crimes are both:
committed in furtherance of the scheme;
a foreseeable result of the scheme.
All members of a criminal conspiracy are guilty of crimes committed by other members of that conspiracy if those crimes are both:
- committed in furtherance of the scheme;
- a foreseeable result of the scheme.
Defense of Withdrawal from the Conspiracy
- Withdrawal is no defense to the crime of conspiracy.
- An effective withdrawal is a defense to a crime for which the defendant is liable under the co-conspirator rule.
- Must be:
- Fully communicated to all other members of the conspiracy; and
- before the crime is committed.
- Must be:
No “meeting of guilty minds” Defense
- D charged with conspiracy must be acquitted upon proof that all other members of the alleged conspiracy have been acquitted or its equivalent.
- Equivalents of acquittal:
- not guilty by reason of insanity; or
- person did not intend to go through with crime (had “secret reservations”).
VA Conspiracy Rule
Conspiracy is committed when:
- there is an agreement
- between two or more persons
- with an intent to commit a felony.
VA Police Officer as Co-Conspirator Rule
An accused may not be convicted for conspiracy with a police officer and the officer’s confidential informant.
VA Conspiracy Overt Act Requirement
A conspiracy is committed when the agreement to commit the offense is complete.
VA Conspiracy Conviction Rule
- If a defendant has already been tried and convicted of an act that he also conspired to commit, he can’t be charged for conspiracy of that crime.
- Exceptions:
- Conspiracy conviction is not barred if based on acts separate from the substantive conviction
- A defendant may be convicted of both the completed offense and conspiracy if the convictions occur in a single trial
VA Conspiracy Acquittal Rule
If a defendant is acquitted of the underlying felony, then a subsequent prosecution for conspiracy is barred.
VA Hearsay Exception for Co-Conspirators
Statements made in furtherance and during the course of a conspiracy (as if made by the co-conspirator) are an exception to the hearsay rule.
