What is the difference between conspiracy to commit murder and an attempted murder?

Conspiracy to commit murder requires an agreement to commit murder and an overt act by one or more of the parties in furtherance of the agreement. Our high court has specifically noted the distinction between conspiracy and attempt, stating, " "As an inchoate crime, conspiracy fixes the point of legal intervention at [the time of] agreement to commit a crime," and "thus reaches further back into preparatory conduct than attempt ...." " ( People v. Morante (1999) 20 Cal.4th 403, 417, 84 Cal.Rptr.2d 665, 975 P.2d 1071, italics added.) Attempted murder does not require any agreement. It "requires the specific intent to kill and the commission of a direct but ineffectual act toward accomplishing the intended killing." ( People v. Lee (2003) 31 Cal.4th 613, 623, 3 Cal.Rptr.3d 402, 74 P.3d 176.) Thus the two charges do not share identical elements.⁴

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