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at·tempt n: the crime of having the intent to commit and taking action in an effort to commit a crime that fails or is prevented – called also criminal attempt; see also impossibility◇ There is no settled answer to how close to completing a crime a person must be to be guilty of attempt, but attempt must generally consist of more than preparation.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
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I
verb
aim at, assay, be at work, be in action, bid for, carry on, conari, do one's best, do the needful, drive at, employ oneself, endeavor, essay, exert oneself, go after, go all out for, intend, labor for, make a bid, make a try, make an effort at, make the effort, ply one's task, pursue, put forth an effort, quest, seek to, set out to, strive, take on, temptare, test, try, try hard, try one's best, undertake, use one's best endeavors, venture
associated concepts: attempt to commit a crime, attempt to defraud, attempt to prove, conspiracy, failure of intended act, preparatory acts, renunciation
foreign phrases:
- Affectus punitur licet non sequatur effectus. — The intention is punished although the intended result does not follow- Non officit conatus nisi sequatur effectus. — An attempt does not harm unless a consequence follows- In maleficiis voluntas spectatur, non exitus. — In criminal offenses, the intention and not the result must be regarded.- Officit conatus si effectus sequatur. — The attempt becomes of consequence, if the effect followsII index assume (undertake), conatus, effort, endeavor (noun), endeavor (verb), enterprise (undertaking), experiment, project, pursue (strive to gain), pursuit (effort to secure), strive, struggle, trial (experiment), undertake, undertaking (enterprise), venture, work (effort)
Burton's Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006
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n.The act of trying to do something, usually unsuccessfully; in criminal law, an intentional effort to commit a crime that failed but could have succeeded.v.attempt
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
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an attempted crime is one that is not completed. Because the criminal law focuses so much on the mental state of the offender, it has long been established that a mere failure to carry through the act intended by the wrongdoer will not allow him to escape criminal liability. To be criminal, matters must have progressed from preparation to perpetration: thus, the purchase of a mask and a glass-cutting tool may be insufficient whereas wandering the streets at night, mask on face and cutter in hand, might be enough. A hand in a pocket, which never reaches the wallet, is an attempted theft.In England, the common law has been supplemented by the Criminal Attempts Act 1981, which creates a statutory offence of attempt. This applies to any act that is done with intent to commit an indictable offence and is more than merely preparatory: Anderson v . Ryan [1985] AC 560. See also R v . Pearman (1984) 80 Cr. App. R 259. It is a crime even to attempt the impossible in terms of the Act and as a result of the decision in R v. Shirpuri [1987] AC 1. In Scotland, in terms of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1975, all attempts to commit a crime are criminal offences. It is attempted theft even if there is nothing in the pocket to steal: Lamont v . Strathern 1933 JC 33, although it was held not possible to attempt to procure an abortion by supplying the necessary materials where the woman was not in fact pregnant: HMA v. Semple 1937 JC 41.
Collins dictionary of law. W. J. Stewart. 2001.
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Starting but not completing an intended criminal act. Attempts involve more than just thinking about doing a criminal act or planning it without at least some concrete steps. Attempted crimes can include attempted murder, attempted robbery, attempted rape, attempted forgery, attempted arson, and a host of other crimes. Attempts are often punished less severely than completed crimes.Category: Criminal LawCategory: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
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n. The intentional and overt taking of a substantial step toward the commission of a crime that falls short of completing the crime. The mere planning of a crime, as well as soliciting another to commit the crime, does not constitute an attempt to commit the crime. Attempt is a crime distinct from the offense that the criminal was attempting to commit. Various legal tests are used to determine when, between planning a crime and committing it, a person's actions constitute an attempt.See also conspiracy, solicitation.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
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An undertaking to do an act that entails more than mere preparation but does not result in the successful completion of the act.
Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.
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An undertaking to do an act that entails more than mere preparation but does not result in the successful completion of the act.
Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.
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v.and n. to actually try to commit a crime and have the ability to do so. This means more than just thinking about doing a criminal act or planning it without overt action. It also requires the opportunity and ability. Attempts can include attempted murder, attempted robbery, attempted rape, attempted forgery, attempted arson, and a host of other crimes. The person accused cannot attempt to commit murder with an unloaded gun or attempt rape over the telephone. The attempt becomes a crime in itself, and usually means one really tried to commit the crime, but failed through no fault of himself or herself. Example: if a husband laces his wife's cocktail with cyanide, it is no defense that by chance the intended victim decided not to drink the deadly potion. One defendant claimed he could not attempt rape in an old Model A coupe because it was too cramped to make the act possible. The court threw out this defense. Sometimes a criminal defendant is accused of both the crime (e.g. robbery) and the attempt in case the jury felt he tried but did not succeed.
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.
