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Mere Preparation? Or Attempt?
When considering actus reus in the context of attempt crimes, it is useful to note the inherent challenge of line-drawing in these cases. It can be very challenging to determine whether or when defendants have crossed the line from "mere preparation" to "attempt."
“Both as fascinating and as fruitless as the alchemists’ quest for the philosopher’s stone has been the search, by judges and writers, for a valid, single statement of doctrine to express when, under the law of guilt, preparations to commit a crime becomes a criminal attempt thereat.” John S. Strahorn, Jr., Preparation for Crime as a Criminal Attempt, 1 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 1, 1 (1939).
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