Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/22-179_o75q.pdf
Page Number: 10.0

6 

UNITED STATES v. HANSEN 

Opinion of the Court 

whether Congress used “encourage” and “induce” as terms 
of art referring to criminal solicitation and facilitation (thus 
capturing only a narrow band of speech) or instead as those 
terms are used in everyday conversation (thus encompass-
ing a broader swath).  An overbreadth challenge obviously 
has better odds on the latter view. 

1 
  We start with some background on solicitation and facil-
itation.  Criminal solicitation is the intentional encourage-
ment of an unlawful act.  ALI, Model Penal Code §5.02(1), 
p. 364  (1985)  (MPC);  2  W.  LaFave,  Substantive  Criminal 
Law §11.1 (3d ed. 2022) (LaFave).  Facilitation—also called 
aiding  and  abetting—is  the  provision  of  assistance  to  a 
wrongdoer with the intent to further an offense’s commis-
sion.  See, e.g., Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh, 598 U. S. ___, ___–
___ (2023) (slip op., at 13–14).  While the crime of solicita-
tion is complete as soon as the encouragement occurs, see 
LaFave §11.1, liability for aiding and abetting requires that 
a wrongful act be carried out, see id., §13.2(a).  Neither so-
licitation nor facilitation requires lending physical aid; for 
both, words may be enough.  Reves v. Ernst & Young, 507 
U. S.  170,  178  (1993)  (one  may  aid  and  abet  by  providing 
“ ‘assistance rendered by words, acts, encouragement, sup-
port, or presence’ ”); MPC §5.02(2), at 365 (solicitation may 
take  place  through  words  or  conduct);  LaFave  §11.1(c) 
(same).  Both require an intent to bring about a particular 
unlawful  act.    See,  e.g.,  Hicks  v.  United  States,  150  U. S. 
442,  449  (1893)  (“[W]ords  of  encouragement  and  abetting 
must” be used with “the intention as respects the effect to 
be produced”).  And both are longstanding criminal theories 
targeting  those  who  support  the  crimes  of  a  principal 
wrongdoer.  See Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First In-
terstate  Bank  of  Denver,  N. A.,  511  U. S.  164,  181  (1994); 
LaFave §11.1(a). 
  The terms “encourage” and “induce” are among the “most