Deck 5: Incomplete Crimes

Question 1

If a defendant "attempted to murder" someone by swatting him or her over the head with a fly swatter,the defendant would likely be able to prove that he or she did not have the ________ to murder,because it is impossible to kill someone in this manner.

A)actus reus
B)concurrence
C)mens rea
D)last act

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The MPC's definition of attempt holds that a person is NOT guilty of an attempt to commit a crime if s/he,acts with the kind of culpability required for commission of the crime but [????]

A)purposely engages in conduct that would constitute the crime if the attendant circumstances were as he or she believes them to be
B)purposely commits a completed crime,then later expresses his or her regrets in writing and returns the stolen goods (or otherwise repairs the harm done)to the victim(s)
C)purposely does or omits to do anything that,under the circumstances as he believes them to be,is an act or omission constituting a substantial step in a course of conduct planned to culminate in his commission of the crime
D)when causing a particular result is an element of the crime,does,or omits to do anything with the purpose of causing or with the belief that it will cause such result without further conduct on his part

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In 1784,the English court first recognized the crime of attempt in

A)Rex v.Higgins.
B)People v.Orndorff.
C)Regina v.Eagleton.
D)Rex v.Scofield.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The ________ test,established in the English case of Regina v.Eagleton,is no longer utilized because most lawmakers believe that a person does not have to take the very last step to be criminally culpable.

A)indispensable element
B)last act
C)physical proximity
D)unequivocality

Question 5

The ________ test is used to determine whether the conduct of a suspect constitutes an attempt.Under this test,an attempt occurs when a person's conduct alone clearly manifests his or her criminal intent.

A)substantial step
B)unequivocality
C)physical proximity
D)dangerous proximity

Question 6

Under the ________ test,a person is guilty of attempt when his or her conduct is very close to success,or when an act is so near to the result that the probability of success is very great.

A)substantial step
B)unequivocality
C)physical proximity
D)dangerous proximity

Question 7

A defendant may not succeed in completing a crime and will not be liable for the attempted crime if

A)the defendant could get concerned that the police were about to intercept his ongoing actions and stop committing a crime out of fear of being caught.
B)the police could stop the ultimate harm prior to it happening by catching the defendant in a later stage of planning the crime.
C)the defendant's plan to commit a crime fails in the process of committing it.
D)the defendant chooses to not carry out the initial actions needed to begin to implement the criminal act.

Question 8

The crime of attempt requires the _________ that,if carried out,would have resulted in the commission of the substantive crime.

A)general intent to commit an act
B)general hopes of initiating a criminal act
C)specific intent to commit an act
D)specific intent to aid and abet

Question 9

A person does NOT have to __________ in order to find that person guilty of committing a crime according to the MPC.

A)purposely do or omit to do anything that,under the circumstances as he or she believes them to be,is an act or omission constituting a substantial step in a course of conduct planned to culminate in his or her commission of the crime
B)purposely engage in conduct that would constitute the crime if the attendant circumstances were as he or she believes them to be
C)purposely accomplish the actus reus of the intended crime,but in such a way that he or she lacks the necessary mens rea and thus the element of concurrence
D)when causing a particular result is an element of the crime,do or omit to do anything with the purpose of causing or with the belief that it will cause such result without further conduct on his or her part

Question 10

__________ is an application of the principle of legality that exists when the law does not define the goal of the defendant as criminal.

A)"hybrid" legal impossibility
B)pure legal impossibility
C)factual impossibility
D)legal impossibility

Question 11

The MPC uses the ________ test,which requires that the suspect must have done or omitted to do something that constitutes an important and sizable stage in the commission of the substantive offense.

A)substantial step
B)unequivocality
C)physical proximity
D)dangerous proximity

Question 12

Under the MPC,the intent requirement can be met even though a defendant may not have desired or wanted a particular result,if it can be shown that the defendant acted with

A)a substantial certainty that a certain result would occur.
B)the mens rea of recklessness,which essentially holds that "anything goes."
C)the mens rea of negligence,which implies that the defendant was deliberately careless about the results to avoid culpability.
D)a desire that a certain result would occur,but a willingness to accept any other result,even arrest.

Question 13

Which of the following exists when the intended acts,even if completed,would not have amounted to a crime?

A)pure legal impossibility
B)factual impossibility
C)genuine legal impossibility
D)legal impossibility

Question 14

Under the ________ test,the perpetrator need not have advanced so far as the last act,and an attempt has not been committed unless the accused has the immediate power to actually carry through with the crime at the time of the intervention of the police.

A)indispensable element
B)last act
C)physical proximity
D)dangerous proximity

Question 15

Only after the _______ of a criminal act is a person is liable for criminal punishment under Anglo-American law.

A)second stage
B)third stage
C)fourth stage
D)sixth stage

Question 16

__________ are criminal acts that are punished before the ultimate or intended harm occurs.

A)Inchoate crimes
B)Misdemeanors
C)Completed crimes
D)Felonies

Question 17

Cases of "hybrid" legal impossibility occur when

A)the distinction between legal and factual impossibility fails.
B)the reasons for punishing unsuccessful attempts apply to neither category.
C)the distinction between legal and factual impossibility succeeds.
D)the suspect acted without the intent to commit the offense.

Question 18

Which of the following is a defense used when a person's intended end constitutes a crime,but the actor does not complete the act that would have been a crime because of circumstances unknown to him or her or beyond his or her control?

A)Pure legal impossibility
B)Factual impossibility
C)Genuine legal impossibility
D)Legal impossibility

Question 19

It is generally accepted that a defendant cannot be held liable for an attempt unless he or she has committed

A)the guilty state of mind,or intent.
B)the actus reus to further his or her plan.
C)the final step of completing the crime.
D)the initial thoughts or desires to commit a crime.

Question 20

Under the ________ test,a suspect who has not yet gained control over a necessary instrumentality of the criminal plan cannot be guilty of attempt.

A)indispensable element
B)last act
C)physical proximity
D)dangerous proximity

Question 21

Which of the following is an agreement between two or more people to commit an unlawful act or acts or to do a lawful act unlawfully?

A)solicitation
B)conspiracy
C)abandonment
D)attempt

Question 22

The crime of ________ is said to exist as a necessary and important aid to law enforcement because secret enterprises threaten society and are extremely difficult to detect.

A)solicitation
B)conspiracy
C)abandonment
D)attempt

Question 23

Name and define three of the tests that have been used or are used to define the crime of intent.

Question 24

An argument against the abandonment defense is that it

A)allows a defendant who sincerely renounces crime to escape liability.
B)timing is not relevant,and people should be guilty at any stage of the criminal plan regardless of whether or not actions were taken to further that plan.
C)currently applies only to involuntary renunciations.
D)allows an actor to undo criminal plans by renunciation and avoid punishment,a possibility that may encourage persons to take preliminary steps toward a crime.

Question 25

Inchoate crimes also have actus reus and mens rea requirements.

Question 26

Abandonment is a valid defense when

A)the defendant has had a change of heart on his or her own,because of a sincere belief that furtherance of the act is wrong.
B)the defendant abandons the criminal plan because he or she was unable to carry out the attempt due to some logistical or technical reason.
C)the defendant postpones the project until a better time arises to carry out the crime.
D)the defendant abandons the criminal plan because law enforcement intervened.

Question 27

One of the basic principles of Anglo-American criminal law is that the law does not punish people for their actions.

Question 28

The general intent requirement for attempted crimes makes sense,because the concept of attempt encompasses the idea that a person is trying to commit a specific act.

Question 29

The salient issue in the impossibility defense is whether the law should punish a person who has attempted to do what was not possible under the existing circumstances.

Question 30

If an accused argues that s/he abandoned the criminal enterprise and did not intend to actually commit the crime,s/he can still be charged with and found guilty of attempt.

Question 31

Name four of the six steps of the crime of intent.

Question 32

Solicitation exists only if the crime solicited has been

A)inquired about.
B)attempted.
C)completed.
D)agreed to.

Question 33

All modern jurisdictions similarly require that the solicitor have a mental state of desiring that the crime be carried out.

Question 34

The MPC gives several examples of conduct in your textbook that would that would be considered a substantial step toward the commission of a crime.Name four of these.

Question 35

Factual impossibility is not a defense to the crime of attempt.

Question 36

It has been said that the only difference between the man who attempts and fails and another who attempts and succeeds may be chance.

Question 37

The mens rea of conspiracy is the act of reaching an agreement.

Question 38

Today,an attempt to commit a substantive crime is usually classified as an equal crime to the target or object offense.

Question 39

Under common law,the physical impossibility of accomplishing the crime frequently prevents conviction.

Question 40

Abandonment is a valid defense,in those jurisdictions that recognize it as such,only when the accused has a genuine change of heart about committing the crime and clearly manifests the desire to abandon the criminal enterprise entirely.

Question 41

Name three of the four types of impossibility that are discussed in your text.

Question 42

What is abandonment?