Preparation and attempt are related, but different standards in

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

.''Criminal Law - Cases and Materials'', 7th ed. 2012,

Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Wolters Kluwer N.V. () is a Dutch information services company. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands (Global) and Philadelphia, United States (corporate). Wolters Kluwer in its current form was founded in 1987 with a m ...

; John Kaplan,

Robert Weisberg Robert I. Weisberg is an American lawyer. He is an Edwin E. Huddleson, Jr. Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, and an expert on criminal law and criminal procedure, as well as a leading scholar in the law and literature movement. Weisberg wa ...

, Guyora Binder,

/ref> An

attempt An attempt to commit a crime occurs if a criminal has an intent to commit a crime and takes a substantial step toward completing the crime, but for reasons not intended by the criminal, the final resulting crime does not occur.''Criminal Law - ...

to commit an unconsummated crime is viewed as having the same gravity as if the crime had occurred. But preparation that falls short of an actual attempt is not, although it may be punishable in some other way. Courts have not been able to draw a clear bright line as to when acts committed in preparation for a crime are actually an attempt to commit the crime. Some approaches, summarized in the case of '' United States v. Mandujano'', include the

physical proximity doctrine The physical proximity doctrine is a standard in criminal law for distinguishing between preparation and attempt.''Criminal Law - Cases and Materials'', 7th ed. 2012, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business; John Kaplan, Robert Weisberg, Guyora Binder, / ...

, the

dangerous proximity doctrine The dangerous proximity doctrine is an American standard for distinguishing between preparation and attempt in a criminal case.''Criminal Law - Cases and Materials'', 7th ed. 2012, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business; John Kaplan, Robert Weisberg, Gu ...

, the

indispensable element test The indispensable element test is a standard for distinguishing preparation and attempt in a criminal case.''Criminal Law - Cases and Materials'', 7th ed. 2012, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Wolters Kluwer N.V. () is a Dutch information services ...

, the

probable desistance test The probable desistance test is a standard for distinguishing between preparation and attempt in a criminal case.''Criminal Law - Cases and Materials'', 7th ed. 2012, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Wolters Kluwer N.V. () is a Dutch information se ...

, the

abnormal step The abnormal step approach is a standard for distinguishing between preparation and attempt in a criminal case.''Criminal Law - Cases and Materials'', 7th ed. 2012, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Wolters Kluwer N.V. () is a Dutch information servi ...

approach, and the

uneqivocality test The unequivocality test is a standard for distinguishing between preparation and attempt in a criminal case.''Criminal Law - Cases and Materials'', 7th ed. 2012, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Wolters Kluwer N.V. () is a Dutch information servic ...

. The

Model Penal Code The Model Penal Code (MPC) is a model act designed to stimulate and assist U.S. state legislatures to update and standardize the penal law of the United States.MPC (Foreword). The MPC was a project of the American Law Institute (ALI), and was pu ...

approach requires a substantial step, in addition to having a criminal purpose.

References

{{Reflist Legal doctrines and principles Legal terminology