Criminal Law – Lecture Two: Inchoate Offenses and Specific Crimes (Part 2 of 3) (Part 2)

Inchoate offenses are "incomplete" crimes that involve steps taken toward committing another crime, even if the final harmful result never occurs. The three main types discussed are attempt, solicitation, and conspiracy.

The two primary elements required for attempt are the intent to commit a specific crime and an overt act that constitutes a substantial step toward its commission. The mental state requires a specific intent to achieve the prohibited result.

The proximity test for attempt requires the defendant's actions to be dangerously close to the completion of the intended crime, while the Model Penal Code's substantial step test is more expansive, focusing on conduct strongly corroborative of criminal purpose.

Solicitation occurs when a person entices, encourages, commands, or requests another person to engage in criminal conduct, with the intent that the crime be committed. The crime of solicitation is complete the moment the request is made with the requisite intent, regardless of whether the other person acts on it.

The actus reus of conspiracy is the agreement between two or more persons to commit an unlawful act, often requiring an overt act in furtherance of the agreement. The mens rea includes both the intent to agree and the intent that the object of the agreement be achieved.

Malice aforethought for murder can be established through intent to kill (express malice), intent to cause serious bodily harm resulting in death, depraved heart murder (extreme recklessness), and felony murder (killing during the commission of an inherently dangerous felony).

Voluntary manslaughter involves an intentional killing committed in the heat of passion resulting from adequate provocation, without a cooling-off period. Involuntary manslaughter, on the other hand, involves an unintentional killing resulting from criminal negligence or during the commission of a misdemeanor or non-dangerous felony.

At common law, battery is the unlawful application of force to another person resulting in bodily injury or offensive touching. Assault can be either an attempted battery or the intentional creation of a reasonable apprehension in the victim of imminent bodily harm.

Larceny is the trespassory taking and carrying away of the tangible personal property of another with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of it. It differs from embezzlement, where the defendant initially possesses the property lawfully but then fraudulently converts it.

Robbery is defined as the unlawful taking of personal property from the person or presence of another, by force or threat of immediate force, with the intent to permanently deprive. The use of violence or intimidation is the defining characteristic that elevates larceny to robbery.