Deck 7: Inchoate Crimes

Question 1

Extraneous circumstances prevent the defendant from completing the intended crime is the definition of what type of defense?

A)Improbability
B)Factual impossibility
C)Practical eventuality
D)None of the above

Answer 1

B

Question 2

If, during a heated argument, a husband chokes his wife with the intent to kill her, but the wife survives, what charges may be filed against the husband?

A)Criminal attempt manslaughter
B)Criminal attempt assault
C)Criminal attempt capital murder
D)None of the above

Answer 2

A

Question 3

If Fred and Susan plan to kill John, purchase an illegal gun to use in the murder, and eventually actually murder John, they are considered accomplices and will be charged with murder because of what factor?

A)Conspiracy factor
B)Absolute factor
C)Complicity factor
D)None of the above.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Why is it more difficult to prove mens rea in an attempted crime?

A)Attempt is not a completed crime.
B)Attempt is not really a crime.
C)Attempt is only a Class C offense.
D)None of the above

Question 5

What two forms of defense are unique to attempt?

A)Impossibility and abandonment
B)Improbability and lack of opportunity
C)Probability and proximity
D)None of the above

Question 6

In State v. Hawkins, what was the reason the appeals court reversed the original conviction?

A)The suspect was considered insane.
B)The weapon did not belong to the suspect.
C)The defendant was intoxicated and therefore not responsible for his actions.
D)The defendant had numerous opportunities to shoot the victim, but he did not.

Question 7

What is a crime that is partial; unfinished; begun, but not completed?

A)Incorporated crime
B)Partial crime
C)Inchoate crime
D)Incomprehensible crime

Question 8

According to which test is the actus reus of attempt satisfied once the offender is nearly able to commit the target crime?

A)Criminal Proximity Test
B)Physical Proximity Test
C)Total Proximity Test
D)Close Proximity Test

Question 9

A Model Penal Code test of attempt requires what to take place before one may determine whether or not attempt has taken place?

A)Lying in wait
B)Enticing or seeking to entice
C)Unlawfully entering a structure in which the intended crime is to occur
D)All the above

Question 10

Which test is credited to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and focuses on whether the act comes so close or near to the object crime that the probability of success is likely?

A)Probable Proximity Test
B)Dangerous Proximity Test
C)Substantial Step Test
D)None of the above

Question 11

What test looks not at the proximity to crime completion, but rather at what, if anything, is lacking such that the crime cannot be completed?

A)Probable Desistance Test
B)Unequivocality Test
C)Dispensable Element Test
D)Indispensible Element Test

Question 12

What is an inchoate offense in which an agreement is reached to commit a crime?

A)Criminal attempt
B)Solitary attempt
C)Conspiracy
D)Mutual agreement

Question 13

Res ipsa loquiter is Latin for "the act speaks for itself" and applies to which test for determining the actus reus in attempt?

A)Unequivocality Test
B)Probable Desistance Test
C)Indispensible Test
D)None of the above

Question 14

What charges should be filed against a person who breaks a window in a business for the purpose of gaining entry into a building to commit a felony?

A)Criminal mischief
B)Assault
C)Criminal attempt burglary
D)Criminal attempt theft

Question 15

According to which test is the actus reus of intent satisfied once the individual's conduct is in extreme proximity to success?

A)Dangerous Proximity Test
B)Deliberate Proximity Test
C)Super Proximity Test
D)None of the above

Question 16

The actus reus of attempt being satisfied once the defendant has committed the final preparation necessary to complete the target crime is the definition of what test?

A)The Final Tribute Test
B)The Total Attempt Test
C)The Last Act Test
D)None of the above

Question 17

Which test looks at the likelihood of the offenders stopping once the wheels have been set in motion to commit a crime?

A)Probable Desistance Test
B)Indispensible Element Test
C)Improbable Desistance Test
D)Impractical Completion Test

Question 18

What act is defined as a voluntary action taken by the defendant in furtherance of the crime of conspiracy?

A)Overt act
B)Covert act
C)Special act
D)None of the above

Question 19

The intent to commit a crime with an act taken toward committing the offense is known what type of offense?

A)Criminal mischief
B)Culpable mental state
C)Attempt
D)Criminal intent

Question 20

Attempt, conspiracy, and solicitation are forms of what type of offense?

A)Inchoate crimes
B)White-collar crimes
C)Blue-collar crimes
D)None of the above

Question 21

In general, the Model Penal Code definition of solicitation requires that (a) a person "commands, encourages or requests" another person to engage in an illegal act with (b) the purpose to promote or facilitate it.

Question 22

Solicitation occurs when a person entices, advises, incites, orders, or otherwise encourages someone else to commit a crime.

Question 23

There is a legal requirement that all overt acts must be illegal in plans of conspiracy.

Question 24

What charges may be filed against Fred and Susan, if Fred and Susan plan to kill John and even purchase the gun but do not complete the crime?

A)Conspiracy factor
B)Absolute factor
C)Complicity factor
D)None of the above

Question 25

A suspect shooting a person who is already dead is an example of "hybrid legal impossibility."

Question 26

A person is guilty of a criminal attempt when, with intent to commit a crime, the person engages in conduct, which constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of that crime whether or not his intention is accomplished.

Question 27

Solicitation occurs if one person uses another as an "innocent instrumentality" in the commission of a crime.

Question 28

According to the "Dangerous Proximity" Test, the actus reus of attempt is satisfied once the offender is nearly able to commit the target crime.

Question 29

Wharton's rule provides that a conspiracy can occur when two persons are required for the commission of a crime.

Question 30

What rule allows that the defendant can be charged both with the crime of conspiracy and the completed offense?

A)Pinkerton rule
B)Smith rule
C)Conspiracy rule
D)Complicity rule

Question 31

The Model Penal Code contains a withdrawal defense, which requires that the defendant either advise his co-conspirators that he is no longer involved in it or inform police about the conspiracy.

Question 32

The courts recognize two types of impossibility: factual and legal.

Question 33

Sometimes prosecutors are faced with a chain conspiracy which is a small-scale conspiracy including individuals who are aware of each other throughout the conspiracy.

Question 34

What is an agreement that is entered into with an evil purpose in order to commit the crime of conspiracy?

A)Non-motives Doctrine
B)Felony motives Doctrine
C)Corrupt Motives Doctrine
D)None of the above

Question 35

Since conspiracies are not necessarily limited to any single locale, what option may exist for prosecutors?

A)Impartial juries
B)Use of the Pinkerton Rule
C)Limited venue for the trial
D)Choice of venue for the trial

Question 36

If, for example, a defendant is charged with attempted burglary but was nowhere near the scene of the crime, then it is not apparent that he could have committed the offense. This is roughly analogous to an alibi defense.

Question 37

What is an out-of-court statement admitted in court for the truth of the matter asserted?

A)Witness statement
B)Hearsay evidence
C)Direct physical evidence
D)None of the above

Question 38

Even though most conspiracies are relatively secret, the courts are quite flexible in terms of the evidence that can be used to prove the existence of an agreement to commit a crime.

Question 39

The abandonment defense requires that the defendant seek to defeat the conspiracy.

Question 40

One of the facets of the Model Penal Code "Substantial Step" Test is the act of "lying in wait."

Question 41

A owner of a local pharmaceutical distribution company uses the legal drug distribution business network to distribute illicit drugs received from a drug cartel located in Columbia. Additionally, the owner launders the money received for the sale of the drugs before routing receipts back to the cartel. The operation includes the use of company vehicles and warehouses throughout the United States to distribute the illegal drugs as well as the receipts from selling the drugs through various drug dealers throughout the United States. Many of the vehicle drivers, warehouse personnel, and office personnel are innocent participants in this illegal effort. All of the managers and administrators are willing involved in all the distribution and laundering efforts.
Evaluate the proper procedures toward initiating the initial investigation and compare the elements of criminal intent as well as the application of mens rea and actus reus to each of the participants. Evaluate how this crime applies to the spoke and wheel conspiracy.

Question 42

In general, if an offender abandons his attempt to commit a crime, he should be cleared of any wrongdoing.

Question 43

The courts have formulated a number of tests for gauging the presence of actus reus in attempt crimes. Identify these tests and discuss how they apply to actus reus in respect to attempt.

Question 44

Students are sometimes confused as to the relationship between complicity and ????????? ___________.

Question 45

Inherent impossibility is a defense that is a form of legal impossibility.

Question 46

There is no uniformly accepted definition of ___________ for the crime of attempt.

Question 47

______________ is a requirement in some states that defendants have a corrupt motive in order to commit the crime of conspiracy.

Question 48

_______________ is when a defendant can be charged both with the crime of conspiracy and the completed offense.

Question 49

A person who attempts to kill another person but only causes serious bodily injury to the victim may be charged with ________________.

Question 50

Discuss the primary differences between complicity and conspiracy to commit crimes. Why do courts have a distinction between the two?

Question 51

In People v. Powell, county officials bought supplies for the poor without putting the request out for _______, which is in violation of the law.

Question 52

If crime is consummated, or completed, then it is no longer just an _______________.

Question 53

Conspiracy laws give prosecutors the advantage of using _____________, which is typically inadmissible in court.

Question 54

________________ is a type of inchoate crime, but it also closely resembles complicity because one person or multiple people can be held criminally liable for the actions of someone else.

Question 55

The courts have formulated ________ tests for gauging the presence of actus reus in attempt crimes.

Question 56

Identify and discuss the first two elements required for inchoate offenses. Why are these elements important when developing charges against suspects?

Question 57

_____________ is a defense to a crime of attempt in which the means that the defendant employs to complete the crime are completely implausible and inappropriate.

Question 58

Inchoate crimes are offense of attempt, conspiracy, and solicitation. Discuss why we should punish people for uncompleted crimes.

Question 59

The ___________ looks at the likelihood of the offender stopping once the wheels have been set in motion.

Question 60

Evaluate attempt, conspiracy, and solicitation as inchoate crimes. Compare typical situations that may involve each of these types of offenses and address the applicability of mens rea and actus reus to each type of offense.