Deck 4: Incomplete Crimes

Question 1

Identify the three things that individuals who are involved in incomplete crimes have in common?

Answer 1

Individuals who are involved in incomplete crimes intended to commit crime, took steps to commit a crime, and was unable to complete the planned crime.

Question 2

Criminal law does not punish inchoate offenses.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Identify the rationales for sanctions against individuals who commit incomplete crime.

Answer 3

Answers may vary. First, incomplete crimes pose a danger to society. Second, punishing incomplete crimes encourages law enforcement to intervene before crime happens. Third, punishing incomplete crimes has a deterrent effect.

Question 4

Punishment for incomplete crimes is less than the punishments for the intended crime.

Question 5

What common thread is shared by the attempt, solicitation, and conspiracy crimes?

Question 6

Inchoate crimes do not happen by accident.

Question 7

In which of the following cases did the Court hold that a defendant could be charged with attempting to burn down a house?

A) Rex v. Higgins (1801)
B) Rex v. Scofield (1784)
C) People v. Paluch (1966)
D) State v. Smith (2004)

Question 8

In which of the following cases did the Court state that acts or attempts that harm a community may be subject to criminal indictment?

A) People v. Paluch (1966)
B) Rex v. Scofield (1784)
C) State v. Smith (2004)
D) Rex v. Higgins (1801)

Question 9

Identify the two elements required for a crime of attempt.

Question 10

The offender's mindset is referred to as actus reus.

Question 11

The offender's actions are referred to as men rea.

Question 12

Actus reus requirements are uniform across the United States.

Question 13

A _________ is a clear step taken toward commission of a crime.

A) substantial step
B) dangerous proximity
C) last act
D) overt act

Question 14

A _______ takes place when a defendant has taken all steps he or she can to carry out the crime.

A) overt act
B) substantial step
C) last act
D) dangerous proximity

Question 15

_________ refers to a defendant who gets very close to committing the intended crime.

A) Substantial step
B) Dangerous proximity
C) Mere preparation
D) Last act

Question 16

Most states use the _______ because it's easier to establish.

A) mere preparation
B) overt act
C) last act
D) dangerous proximity

Question 17

Identify the difference between Vermont and Connecticut's definitions of attempt.

Question 18

Connecticut requires a substantial step when convicting an individual of attempt.

Question 19

The Connecticut law mirrors the Model Penal Code.

Question 20

In almost _______, the law allows a person to be convicted of attempt for a failure to act.

A) 15%
B) 27%
C) 40%
D) 50%

Question 21

In the People v. Rizzo (1927) case, the defendant planned to rob an individual of a pay roll of

A) $500
B) $895
C) $1000
D) $1200

Question 22

Most defendants are successful in their abandonment cases.

Question 23

The defense of impossibility addresses whether the law should allow someone to avoid criminal punishment.

Question 24

Impossibility may be a defense to an attempt crime.

Question 25

Which of the following are impossibility defenses?

A) Factual and Criminal
B) Factual and Legal
C) Legal and Abandonment
D) Legal and Criminal

Question 26

The dividing line between impossibility is always clear.

Question 27

Most states do not recognize factual impossibility.

Question 28

In the author's hypothetical question regarding legal impossibility, the decoy was

A) bear.
B) mountain lion.
C) tiger.
D) deer.

Question 29

Which of the following defenses was abolished by most jurisdictions and the Model Penal Code?

A) Legal impossibility
B) Factual impossibility
C) Abandonment
D) Renunciation

Question 30

Which of the following terms are used to describe the actus reus element in a solicitation statute?

A) To encourage
B) To importune
C) To command
D) All of the above

Question 31

Solicitation is often referred to as a

A) "triple inchoate" offense.
B) "double inchoate" offense.
C) "single inchoate" offense
D) "last act" offense.

Question 32

Solicitation is often referred to as an attempted conspiracy.

Question 33

Under Tennessee law, a solicitation may be

A) oral.
B) written.
C) electronic.
D) All of the above

Question 34

Which of the follow cases involved a solicitation letter written by an inmate?

A) State v. Smith (2004)
B) State v. Lee (1991)
C) Commonwealth v. McCloskey (1975)
D) State v. Dlugash (1977)

Question 35

__________ is a key component of the abandonment cases for solicitation.

A) Preparation
B) The act
C) Voluntariness
D) The offender's age

Question 36

Some states require that abandonment is ______________.

A) complete.
B) partial.
C) slight present.
D) not taken into consideration.

Question 37

Which of the following inchoate offenses is considered to be less serious than attempt?

A) Solicitation
B) Conspiracy
C) both of the above
D) none of the above

Question 38

Which of the following inchoate crimes is considered to be the most serious

A) Solicitation.
B) Attempt.
C) Conspiracy.
D) They are all equally serious

Question 39

A crime is more likely to happen if two or more people carry it out.

Question 40

Which of the following crimes were mentioned as conspiracy crimes in the text?

A) Columbine High School shooting
B) September 11^th terrorist attacks
C) Bernard Madoff's ponzi scheme
D) All of the above

Question 41

The first conspiracy statute was enacted as early as

A) 1200
B) 1247
C) 1261
D) 1285

Question 42

Which of the following is required by most jurisdictions when considering conspiracy crimes?

A) Mere preparation
B) Last act
C) Overt act
D) Dangerous proximity

Question 43

Conspiracy is a specific intent offense.

Question 44

Wheel conspiracies are easier to prosecute than chain conspiracies.

Question 45

The person at the center of a wheel conspiracy is known as which of the following?

A) The Spokes
B) The Bar
C) The Hub
D) The Center

Question 46

Most conspiracies involve formal agreements.

Question 47

The overt act is proof that the conspiracy is alive and operative.

Question 48

Which of the following are examples of lawful actions satisfy the over act requirement?

A) Making a phone call
B) Attending a meeting to plan the crime
C) Mailing a letter
D) All of the above

Question 49

Which of the following inchoate offenses is the exception to the doctrine of merger.

A) Attempt
B) Solicitation
C) Conspiracy
D) All of the above

Question 50

Which of the following crimes is not considered to be a major inchoate crime?

A) Conspiracy
B) Stalking
C) Attempt
D) Solicitation

Question 51

Which of the following crimes is not considered simple inchoate crimes?

A) Threats
B) Aiding and abetting
C) Stalking
D) Solicitation

Question 52

__________ became the first state to pass anti-stalking legislation.

A) Alabama
B) California
C) Nevada
D) New York

Question 53

The Justice Department, in 2012, estimated that there were approximately _________ million stalking victims.

A) 1.2
B) 2.3.
C) 3.3
D) 5.7

Question 54

Stalking behavior can include which of the following?

A) Unwanted phone calls
B) Unsolicited letters or emails
C) Spying on the victim
D) All of the above