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Casebook Read Credits
Criminal Law
Section 5 . 2 . 3
24 minutes

Impossibility

Sam Kamin,
Dana Lindenberg

What if the defendant tried but failed to commit an offense, but was never able to do so because of something beyond her control -- the gun she used wasn't loaded, the victim had no money to hand over, or, more difficultly, the conduct the defendant was trying to engage in is not in fact criminal? These questions force us to think hard about why we punish failed attempts in the first place.

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