Exam 14: Preparatory Offenses and Organized Criminal Activity

Under Texas law,prosecutions for criminal conspiracy are limited to conspiracies to commit ________ offenses.

Alvin,Theodore,and Raymond decide to rob a convenience store.They enter the store,demand money,and escape with their loot.They are subsequently identified and arrested.At trial,each of the three could be found guilty of robbery but cannot be found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery because they successfully completed the intended crime.

No matter how hard one tries,a person cannot conspire by oneself.

Carlos,the leader of a gang,commands Juan,a gang member,to murder Javier another member of the gang because Carlos believes Javier is a police informant.Carlos gives Juan a pistol to accomplish the deed.Juan,however,is not interested in murdering anyone and reports the incident to the police.Juan agrees to testify against Carlos at his trial for criminal ________ arising from the incident.

Brad owes Paul $10,000.Brad has been slow in paying back the debt.Paul is losing patience with Brad.One day Paul says to Terry,"I will give you a $100 to rough up Brad.Maybe that will motivate him to pay me the money he owes me." Terry agrees to the deal and that night encounters Brad in an alley.He strikes Brad in the knee with a baseball bat and says,"Merry Christmas from Paul." Brad's knee cap is shattered and he subsequently undergoes a surgical repair of the knee.Which of the following statements is correct about this incident?

Barry,Joe,and Curly,ex-convicts,decide to do their Christmas shopping early by burglarizing the local discount store.Barry steals a truck while Joe buys an acetylene torch and an ax at the hardware store.About midnight that evening,the three individuals get in the truck and drive to the back of the discount store.Curly begins using the torch to try and cut open the steel door leading to the store's rear storage area.A police officer,on his way to a doughnut shop,sees the light from the torch and arrests the three before they can get the door open.The most serious offenses Joe committed are:

To violate the Texas statute prohibiting use of a criminal instrument,an individual must simply have used any tool,other than a firearm,to facilitate commission of a felony offense.

The legal principle known as the Pinkerton Rule bars a private detective from testifying at the criminal trial of another private detective.

John and Marsha are undergoing a bitter divorce.The process has been long and difficult and it appears to John that the divorce will never become final.He decides to hasten matters along.John contacts Bill,a previously convicted felon,and offers Bill $5,000 to kill Marsha.Bill agrees to kill Marsha.John pays him $2,500 as a down payment for the act.Unknown to John,Bill is an informant for the local sheriff's department and has absolutely no intention of killing Marsha.He immediately reports the entire incident to the sheriff's department.Which of the following statements is correct about this situation?

Texas law,like the law of most states,sets the punishment for an attempted offense at a lower penalty level than the completed offense.Robbery,however,includes within its definition the elements of the attempt to commit the offense.Should the penalty for other mala in se offenses,such as murder and sexual assault,be set at the same penalty level as the consummated offense? Why or why not?

Angelina is unhappy in her marriage to Rod.She has fallen in love with Matt.Angelina tells Matt,"Rod won't give me a divorce.We need to do something about him.I want him dead.Take care of it!" Matt takes the matter in hand.He approaches Pete,an old high school friend of unsavory reputation,about killing Rod.Matt offers Pete $5,000 to commit the murder.Pete agrees and Matt pays him a $2,500 down payment.The next day,however,Pete has a change of heart and flees to Mexico.Which of the following is a correct statement about this situation?

Nikki fears that her brother Ricky,who is charged with DWI,will be convicted.Her concern is understandable since Ricky was arrested after he crashed his car into the side of the police station.When officers went to investigate,they found an obviously intoxicated Ricky sitting in his car holding a bottle of tequila.To help Ricky with his defense,Nikki hires Al to be Ricky's lawyer.At Al's direction,Nikki contacts Assistant District Attorney Jack.She offers Jack $1,000 if he will drop the charges against Ricky.Jack says,"I'll have to think about it.Give me a week." Jack then reports the meeting to the District Attorney.Which of the following is an accurate statement about this situation?

The plurality requirement renders it impossible to convict a person of criminal conspiracy if all other members of the alleged conspiracy previously have been found not guilty.

Under Texas law,a prostitute who is offering sex for money commits the offense of criminal solicitation.

Late one night the police discover Warren,a known drug abuser,throwing a brick at the window of a closed pharmacy.Warren throws the brick several times before the police intercede.When questioned,Warren admits he was trying to break into the pharmacy to obtain drugs.Unknown to Warren,the pharmacy was equipped with shatter-resistant glass.Warren has committed:

A prospective offender who voluntarily abandons his criminal goal may be found not guilty of a criminal attempt due to the ________ defense.

For a criminal attempt to occur,the suspect must engage in some act that amounts to more than mere preparation to commit the desired crime but fails to effect its commission.

Under Texas law,an object does NOT fit the definition of a "criminal instrument" if:

The legal phrase "criminal combination" is most associated with which of the following criminal activities?

To be convicted of violating the Texas statute prohibiting engaging in organized crime,at least three persons must have banded together to commit one or more of the statutorily specified felonies.