Opinion ID: 2959654
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: 2d 1373, 1375 (D.C. 1987) (same).

Text: 6 Mr. Jones raises three additional arguments that are without merit. First, he argues that one cannot be charged with an attempt for “substantive crimes that are, themselves, in the nature of attempts.” The case he cites for this proposition, Moore v. State, 882 A.2d 256, 269 (Md. 2005), provides simple assault as an example. See also Dabney v. State, 858 A.2d 1084, 1097 (Md. 2004) (“Since a simple assault is nothing more than an attempt to commit a battery, . . . an attempt to commit an assault . . . is not a crime.”). Mr. Jones does not explain why misdemeanor threats would fit into this category of crimes, however. Second, he argues that “[b]ecause the crime of threats as now enumerated in D.C. Code § 22-407 (2001) was first enacted in 1912,” the general attempts statute of D.C. Code § 22-1803 (2012 Repl.) “does not apply.” This argument was rejected by Evans, 779 A.2d at 893-94. Third, Mr. Jones argues in passing that the charge of attempted threats “runs afoul of First Amendment protections” by criminalizing speech that is “unspoken” or “unheard.” Such concerns are not implicated in this case, however, where the (continued…) 8 For these reasons, attempted threats is a valid offense in the District, and the trial court did not err in convicting Mr. Jones.