Which inchoate offenses merge with a completed offense?

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Multiple Choice

Which inchoate offenses merge with a completed offense?

The concept here is merger of inchoate offenses into the completed offense. When the target crime is actually carried out, certain inchoate crimes are treated as subsumed by that completed offense and thus don’t stand as separate punishable offenses. Solicitation and attempt are the ones that merge in this way. If someone solicits another to commit a crime and the crime is then completed, the solicitation merges into the completed offense—you can punish for the crime that occurred, and the separate liability for soliciting is not treated as an additional distinct offense. Similarly, if someone attempts a crime and the crime is later completed, the attempt merges with the completed crime because the harm occurred and the inchoate act becomes part of the same wrongful conduct. Conspiracy doesn’t merge in the same way. The crime of conspiracy rests on an agreement to commit a crime and remains a separate offense even if the substantive offense is completed. You can be punished for conspiracy as well as the completed crime, reflecting the distinct liability for the agreement and planning, independent of whether the target crime is eventually carried out.

The concept here is merger of inchoate offenses into the completed offense. When the target crime is actually carried out, certain inchoate crimes are treated as subsumed by that completed offense and thus don’t stand as separate punishable offenses.

Solicitation and attempt are the ones that merge in this way. If someone solicits another to commit a crime and the crime is then completed, the solicitation merges into the completed offense—you can punish for the crime that occurred, and the separate liability for soliciting is not treated as an additional distinct offense. Similarly, if someone attempts a crime and the crime is later completed, the attempt merges with the completed crime because the harm occurred and the inchoate act becomes part of the same wrongful conduct.

Conspiracy doesn’t merge in the same way. The crime of conspiracy rests on an agreement to commit a crime and remains a separate offense even if the substantive offense is completed. You can be punished for conspiracy as well as the completed crime, reflecting the distinct liability for the agreement and planning, independent of whether the target crime is eventually carried out.

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