Is factual impossibility a defense to the crime of attempt?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Moses, 10 Cal.5th 893, 272 Cal.Rptr.3d 862, 477 P.3d 579 (Cal. 2020):
As a result, factual impossibility is not a defense to the crime of attempt. The defendant's " "guilt or innocence is determined as if the facts were as he perceived them ." " ( People v. Reed (1996) 53 Cal.App.4th 389, 396, 61 Cal.Rptr.2d 658 ( Reed ); accord, People v. Beardslee (1991) 53 Cal.3d 68, 87, 279 Cal.Rptr. 276, 806 P.2d 1311.) For example, a person who
[272 Cal.Rptr.3d 868]
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