Editing Attempt (section)

{{Short description|Having an intent for and preparing to complete a crime}}
{{other uses}}
{{multiple issues|
{{Confusing|date=January 2008}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2009}}
}}

{{Criminal law}}

An '''attempt''' to commit a [[crime]] occurs if a criminal has an intent to commit a crime and takes a substantial step toward completing the crime, but for reasons not intended by the criminal, the final resulting crime does not occur.<ref name=CL>''Criminal Law - Cases and Materials'', 7th ed. 2012, [[Wolters Kluwer Law & Business]]; [[John Kaplan (law professor)]], [[Robert Weisberg]], [[Guyora Binder]], {{ISBN|978-1-4548-0698-1}}, [https://law.stanford.edu/publications/criminal-law-cases-and-materials-7th-edition/]</ref> Attempt to commit a particular crime is a crime, usually considered to be of the same or lesser gravity as the particular crime attempted.<ref name=CL/>{{rp|669–671}} Attempt is a type of [[Inchoate offense|inchoate crime]], a crime that is not fully developed. The crime of attempt has two elements, [[intent]] and some conduct toward completion of the crime.<ref name=DAME>Defining Attempts: Mandujano's Error, Duke University, Michael R. Fishman, [http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3822&context=dlj]</ref>

One group of theories in [[criminal law]] is that attempt to commit an act occurs when a person comes dangerously close to carrying out a criminal act, and intends to commit the act, but does not commit it. The person may have carried out all the necessary steps (or thought they had) but still failed, or the attempt may have been abandoned or prevented at a late stage. The attempt must have gone beyond mere planning or [[preparation and attempt|preparation]], and is distinct from other [[inchoate offense]]s such as [[Conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]] to commit a crime or [[solicitation]] of a crime. There are many specific crimes of attempt, such as [[attempted murder]], which may vary by [[jurisdiction]]. Punishment is often less severe than would be the case if the attempted crime had been carried out. Abandonment of the attempt may constitute a not guilty defence, depending partly on the extent to which the attempt was abandoned freely and voluntarily. Early [[common law]] did not punish attempts; the law of attempt was not recognised by common law until the case of ''[[Rex v. Scofield]]'' in 1784.<ref name=CL/>{{rp|669}}<ref>[http://www.sagepub.com/lippmanstudy/07/index.htm Chapter 7: Attempt, Conspiracy, and Solicitation] Lippman's Contemporary Criminal Law, Student Study Site, Copyright 2008 SAGE.</ref>

The essence of the crime of attempt in legal terms is that the [[defendant]] has failed to commit the ''[[actus reus]]'' (the [[Latin]] term for the "guilty act") of the full offense, but has the direct and [[intention (criminal law)|specific intent]] to commit that full offense. The normal rule for establishing criminal liability is to prove an ''actus reus'' accompanied by a ''[[mens rea]]'' ("guilty mind") at the relevant time (see [[concurrence]] and [[strict liability]] offenses as the exception to the rule).