Legal impossibility

Legal impossibility

Legal impossibility is a traditional common law defense to a charge of an attempted crime. Legal impossibility arises when a person believes she is committing a crime, but the act is, in fact, lawful. For example, a person may believe she is receiving stolen goods, but the goods are in fact not stolen.

A different form of legal impossibility (Known as "hybrid legal impossibility") comes into play when an actor's goal is illegal, but commission of the crime is impossible due to a factual mistake regarding the legal status of one of the attendant circumstances of one of the elements of the crime. For example, a man attempting to bribe someone whom he mistakenly believes is a juror is not liable for attempted bribery of a juror.

The legal impossibility defense has fallen out of favor with modern courts.


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  • legal impossibility — see impossibility Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • impossibility — im·pos·si·bil·i·ty n pl ties 1: the quality or state of being impossible; also: the affirmative defense that something (as performance) is impossible 2: something impossible 3: impossibility of performance in this entry fac·tu·al impossibili …   Law dictionary

  • impossibility, legal — n. A condition arising when a law makes it impossible for a person to do a particular act; e.g., a minor cannot make a valid will, so any will made by a minor is invalid because it is a legal impossibility. The Essential Law Dictionary. Sphinx… …   Law dictionary

  • legal — 1. Conforming to the law; according to law; required or permitted by law; not forbidden or discountenanced by law; good and effectual in law; of or pertaining to the law; lawful. Freeman v. Fowler Packing Co., 135 Kan. 378, 11 P.2d 276, 277. See… …   Black's law dictionary

  • legal — 1. Conforming to the law; according to law; required or permitted by law; not forbidden or discountenanced by law; good and effectual in law; of or pertaining to the law; lawful. Freeman v. Fowler Packing Co., 135 Kan. 378, 11 P.2d 276, 277. See… …   Black's law dictionary

  • Impossibility defense — An Impossibility defense is a criminal defense occasionally used when a defendant is accused of a criminal attempt that failed only because the crime was factually or legally impossible to commit.cite book first= last= authorlink= coauthors=… …   Wikipedia

  • impossibility — That which, in the constitution and course of nature or the law, no person can do or perform. Impossibility is of the following several sorts: An act is physically impossible when it is contrary to the course of nature. Such an impossibility may… …   Black's law dictionary

  • impossibility — That which, in the constitution and course of nature or the law, no person can do or perform. Impossibility is of the following several sorts: An act is physically impossible when it is contrary to the course of nature. Such an impossibility may… …   Black's law dictionary

  • impossibility of performance of contract — A doctrine under which a party to a contract is relieved of his or her duty to perform when performance has become impossible or totally impracticable (through no fault of the party). As a defense to nonperformance, such arises when performance… …   Black's law dictionary

  • impossibility of performance of contract — A doctrine under which a party to a contract is relieved of his or her duty to perform when performance has become impossible or totally impracticable (through no fault of the party). As a defense to nonperformance, such arises when performance… …   Black's law dictionary

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