Opinion ID: 2427524
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Substantial Step .(1) The Substantial Step Requirement Expands Attempt Beyond the Common Law

Text: The substantial step requirement for attempt derives from the American Law Institute's Model Penal Code, which in the early 1960s sought to widen the ambit of attempt liability. United States v. Ivic, 700 F.2d 51, 66 (2d Cir.1983) (Friendly, J.) (citing Model Penal Code § 5.01(1)(c) (Proposed Official Draft 1962)), overruled on other grounds by National Org. for Women, Inc. v. Scheidler, 510 U.S. 249, 254-55, 262, 114 S.Ct. 798, 127 L.Ed.2d 99 (1994). Previously, at common law, attempt had been limited to conduct close to the completion of the intended crime. See generally People v. Werblow, 241 N.Y. 55, 69, 148 N.E. 786, 789 (1925) (Cardozo, J.) (holding that, to constitute attempt, suspect's conduct must carry the project forward within dangerous proximity to the criminal end to be attained); Commonwealth v. Peaslee, 177 Mass. 267, 272, 59 N.E. 55, 56 (1901) (Holmes, J.) (recognizing that some preparations may amount to an attempt when they come very near to the accomplishment of the act). By requiring proof only of a substantial step in furtherance of the intended crime, the Model Code ushered in a broader view of attempt. This court effectively adopted the Model Code's formulation of attempt in United States v. Stallworth, 543 F.2d 1038, 1040-41 (2d Cir.1976). The Stallworth defendants were arrested when their planned armed robbery was in progress and [a]ll that stood between [them] and success was a group of F.B.I. agents and police officers. Id. at 1041. As such evidence would have demonstrated attempt even under the common law, the significance of the case rests not on its facts but on the court's approving citation to the Model Code's identification of a range of conductnot always proximate to the desired criminal endthat might nevertheless constitute a substantial step when strongly corroborative of the firmness of the defendant's criminal intent. Id. at 1040 & n. 5; see also id. at 1041 (observing that application of Model Code emphasizes the importance of a rule [of attempt] encouraging early police intervention where a suspect is clearly bent on the commission of crime). Accord United States v. Crowley, 318 F.3d 401, 408 (2d Cir.2003); United States v. Ivic, 700 F.2d at 66. Thus, a substantial step must be something more than mere preparation, yet may be less than the last act necessary before the actual commission of the substantive crime. United States v. Manley, 632 F.2d 978, 987 (2d Cir.1980). It is conduct `planned to culminate' in the commission of the substantive crime being attempted. United States v. Ivic, 700 F.2d at 66 (quoting Model Penal Code § 5.01(c) (Proposed Official Draft 1962)). [16]