Editing Attempt (section)

=== United States ===
The legal rules for establishing the ''actus reus'' of an attempt offense in the United States are varied and nonuniform. Generally, there are two categories which a test can fall under: tests that focus on how much remains to be done before the crime is committed; and those that consider what has already occurred.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Dressler|first=Joshua|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1080075738|title=Criminal Law: Cases and Materials|date=2019|others=Stephen P. Garvey|isbn=978-1-68328-822-0|edition=8|location=St. Paul, MN|pages=323–334|oclc=1080075738}}</ref> Further complicating matters, U.S. jurisdictions rarely use only one test.<ref name=":0" />

====New York State====

In [[New York (state)|New York]] law, the element of ''actus reus'' is that the person engages in conduct that "tends to effect the commission of such crime".<ref>[[N.Y. Penal Law]] section 110.00, which may be found at [http://www.assembly.state.ny.us New York State Assembly web site].</ref> The test this requires ''either'':
* An action that reveals a [[intent (law)|criminal intent]], that is, '''''[[res ipsa loquitur]]''''', or "the thing speaks for itself", ''or''
* The person has '''[[Dangerous proximity doctrine|dangerous proximity]]''', or is "dangerously near and close to the accomplishment of the crime".<ref>''People v. Acosta'' (N.Y. Court of Appeals 1993).</ref>
The dangerous proximity test was formulated by Justice [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.|Oliver Wendell Holmes]] in the trial of [[Commonwealth v. Peaslee|''Commonwealth'' [of Massachusetts] ''v. Peaslee'']] in 1901.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Commonwealth v. Peaslee {{!}} Case Brief for Law School {{!}} LexisNexis|url=https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/casebrief/p/casebrief-commonwealth-v-peaslee|access-date=2021-11-18|website=LexisNexis|language=en}}</ref> Holmes as a U.S. Supreme Court justice later articulated the test as "dangerous proximity to success" of the crime in a dissent in [[Hyde v. United States|Hyde v. United States (1912)]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hyde v. United States, 225 U.S. 347 (1912)|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/225/347/|access-date=2024-03-20|website=Justia|language=en}}</ref>

====U.S. Model Penal Code====

Under the United States [[Model Penal Code]], for a defendant to be convicted of attempt requires that they perform a "substantial step in a course of conduct planned to culminate in [the defendant's] commission of the crime" (MPC 5.01(1)(c)).