Yeah, Irishman, I think that does clear it up. I still feel some resistance to the idea, but I guess you’re right about the interpretation of the act. Thanks.
I would think that some of the legal questions could be answered by examining a high-profile case which just completedNaughton. While my link may not be the best account, it certainly addresses most of the legal questions, which might be better than our opinions.
The two links Alphagene gave for other threads discussing this issue mainly died last year, before the resolution of the Naughton case this year.
In general, attempt occurs when the actor has the intent to commit a crime and takes some action in an effort to commit that crime. The crime must fail or be prevented.
There is varied case law on what constitutes “some action”, but in general there must be more than simply preparation. Some states have a “moving picture” test used if the defense of abandonment is raised (that is, if the accused suggests he was abandoning the criminal attempt) loosely translated as the concept that if an audience were watching the actions in a film, would it be reasonable to believe that the crime would have been stopped by the accused’s own actions. In other words, it’s not abandoment if your robbery victim takes your gun away and forces you to sit down and wait for the police. But if you stick a gun in someone’s face, demand their money, then suddenly cry out, “I can’t do this,” and run away, you have abandoned the attempt at robbery. (Note that you may have already completed other crimes, such as brandishing a firearm; you cannot abandon a completed crime).
Let’s talk about entrapment - it is, after all, the title of this thread. There seems to be some feeling that the FBI entraps pedophiles by posing as 12 year old girls.
In order to establish entrapment, the accused has the burden of proving either that he would not have committed the crime but for the undue persuasion or fraud of the government agent. But if the government can show he has previously tried to pick up real 12 year old girls, the fact finder may infer that the accused had a predisposition to commit the crime. In such case, it is of no moment that the government may have encouraged the crime.
Even without a showing of predisposition, the accused has to show that he was unduly persuaded to commit the crime.
That is entrapment. It’s not entrapment if the government merely provides the opportunity to commit the crime.
- Rick
Ok, I now understand and have had my question answered. The teeming millions have risen to the top again. This particular website has gone quite a distance in instilling in me some sort of faith in the power of the internet to be of some actual, relatively convenient, reliable use. Thank you all.