CRJ 222 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Inchoate Offense, Impossibility Defense, Pickpocketing
Document Summary
Attempts in relation to substantive crimes: redundant to charge someone with attempting to attempt to commit a given crime, a person who is successful in an attempt to commit murder is guilty of murder. Pickpocketing with intent to steal money but the victim"s pocket is empty; can be found only for attempted theft because it was factually impossible to commit the crime, but legally possible to do so. Yellow = important concepts: no defense to prosecution if the crime could have been committed had the circumstances been what the defendant believed them to be, ex. Solicitation: solicitation inchoate offense of requesting or encouraging someone to engage in illegal conduct; federal offense. If the particular jurisdiction doesn"t require proof of the defendant"s specific intent, the prosecution must at least establish that the actor who solicits someone to commit a crime had the requisite intent for the crime solicited.
