The request is made when a person proposes, requests, hires, sends or encourages another person to commit a crime, such as: murder, robbery, fraud, rape or prostitution, among others. Neither party has to actually participate in an event to cause the crime; the crime of solicitation occurs at the precise moment in which the person requesting the crime communicates it to another person for that purpose, who, in turn, acts as a figurehead. The requested person does not even have to agree to commit the crime, they simply do it as a business. The person charged with solicitation must have intentionally asked and persuaded the other person to commit the crime (with the clearly defined intent that the other person would actually commit the crime).
What is the Model Penal Code?
State solicitation laws are heavily influenced by the Model Penal Code. This is a penal code established by law professors, judges and lawyers. It is a guide to what they think criminal law should look like in the legal field. It is not the law itself, and it does not have a binding effect, but it has influenced many state laws, which have been based on this model to improve their professional actions.
What are the state laws regarding the application?
The Model Penal Code has determined that the application requires that a person:
Aspire to cause or facilitate the commission of a crime.
Directing, inciting or soliciting another person to commit any crime.
Several states have followed Code practices and have all-felony or all-felony application regulations. Although, some states only have solicitation laws for certain crimes.
Why do some states have different degrees of solicitation?
The application may be graded based on the experience of the attorney, the age of the applicant, whether the assault is a felony or a misdemeanor, and the exact nature of the crime. The age of the parties is important when the crime under discussion is prostitution or statutory rape. Certain states may set up your request as follows, however this will certainly vary between states:
First degree: when the person over the age of eighteen, with all intent (treachery and premeditation), and in his full mental judgment, requests that a minor under sixteen years of age or less, commit a felony, these felonies include murder and violation.
Second degree: when the person who intentionally solicits another adult to commit a felony. Such felonies include murder and rape.
Third degree: when the person over eighteen years of age, with the intention requests that a minor of sixteen years of age or less, commit a misdemeanor.
Fourth degree: when the person who, with the established plan, asks an adult to commit a misdemeanor.
Fifth degree: when the person with the intended purpose requests another person to commit a misdemeanor.
Are there defenses to the request?
The Model Penal Code establishes a waiver defense for the application. If the attorney is able to get the defendant to completely and voluntarily relinquish criminal intent and the person sought has been persuaded not to commit the crime or has prevented it in any way, the attorney may be able to get the defendant to successfully relinquish the crime of solicitation. . He has given up the criminal purpose of it. Certain courts may accept this defense. Likewise, the request is not the same as attempting or committing the requested crime unless the attorney has made arrangements with the request to originate the crime.
The solicitation is likewise a crime without merger: a person cannot be charged with both the solicitation of a crime and the crime itself. The prosecutor must decide which crime is more serious to charge you for such an abnormal act. This can work in a defendant’s favor if the prosecution is inexperienced and decides to prosecute a crime that is more difficult to prove.
Do I need a criminal law attorney?
If you are charged with solicitation, the criminal law attorney will be able to help you prepare your case. The attorney will educate you on all the laws in his jurisdiction and how the application is handled.