Overview and General Matters

Question 1

Merger

Answer 1

Common Law: if a person engaged in conduct constituting both a felony and a misdemeanor, they could be convicted only of the felony.

Modern Law: there is no merger of crimes in American law. However, a person who solciits another to commit a crime may not be convicted of both the solicitation and the completed crime! Similarly, a person who completes a crime after attempting it may not be convicted of both the attempt and the completed crime

Question 2

Generally, a state has jurisdiction over a crime if:

Answer 2

1. Any act constituting an element of the offense was committed in the state
2. An act outside the state caused a result in the state
3. The crime involved the neglect of a duty imposed by the law of the state
4. There was an attempt or conspiracy outside the state plus an act inside the state or
5. There was an attempt or conspiracy inside the state to commit an offense outside the state