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Criminal Law • Preliminary Crimes
CRIMLAW#053
Legal Definition
An attempt is an act done with the intent to commit a crime that falls short of completing the crime.
Plain English Explanation
Committing crimes is bad, but the law doesn't want to only punish competent criminals who succeed with their crimes. Incompetent criminals who try, but fail, to commit a crime are still a risk to society and, thus, many "attempted" crimes are punishable. On an exam, if you're ever super close to finding all the elements of a crime but come up a bit short, there's a chance that it is an attempted crime so long as the person has made some effort to follow through with the crime.
Hypothetical
Hypo 1: Bob's having a bad day. He decides he wants to burn down an orphanage. Bob carefully packs up an assortment of fuels, some gloves, and various lighters, then drives down to his town's orphanage. Bob finds a back corner of the building and pours a gallon of fuel on it. Bob tries to light it on fire, but his lighter won't spark. A police officer driving by notices what Bob is doing and arrests him. Result: It wouldn't be fair to charge Bob with arson, because he didn't burn anything. However, it definitely wouldn't be fair to let Bob go free, because he's clearly a threat to society. Luckily, he can be charged with attempted arson.
Related Concepts
Does merger exist for conspiracy related crimes?
How can a participant of a conspiracy effectively withdraw?
How does factual impossibility affect attempt?
How does factual impossibility affect conspiracy?
How does legal impossibility affect attempt?
How does legal impossibility affect conspiracy?
In assessing the crime of attempt, what is merger?
In assessing the crime of solicitation, what is merger?
Under conspiracy, what constitutes an agreement?
What is conspiracy?
What is solicitation?
What is the liability for co-conspirators' crimes?
What is Wharton's Rule?
What level of preparation is required to commit an attempt?
What type of intent is required for attempt?
