Bob and George planned to rob a series of houses in a local neighborhood. In addition to casing the neighborhood, the men carefully planned which night they would burglarize each particular house, and they gathered tools specific to each burglary. Additionally, they based their decisions of what house to burglarize on a given day on details they learned about the residents’ schedules. The night before the planned burglary of the Smiths’ house, Bob and George cased the house once more. The following evening, they went back to the house at 8 p.m., expecting the Smiths to be gone for the evening. To their surprise, the Smiths were at home.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Law enforcement investigation later revealed that Bob and George were suspects in a series of home burglaries. Pursuant to a search warrant, the police seized the pair’s detailed plans, including the plans to burglarize the Smiths’ house. Bob and George were charged with multiple counts of burglary as well as the attempted burglary of the Smiths’ house. What legal concept is implicated by this scenario, and what is the likely outcome?
Ans: This scenario raises the issue of abandonment of an attempted crime and whether Bob and George should be found guilty of the attempted burglary of the Smiths’ home. Because they had to abandon their plans to burglarize the home that night, they might argue that they are not guilty of attempt. However, the renunciation of their plans was not based on voluntary abandonment of the crime. In fact, had the Smiths been away as expected, Bob and George would have carried out their criminal plans. As stated in the text, abandonment “is a defense to attempt when an individual freely and voluntarily undergoes a change of heart and abandons the criminal activity.” As a result, Bob and George’s defense of abandonment should fail, and they should be found guilty of attempt.