State v. Curtis, 603 A.2d 356 (Vt. 1992)

  • Facts: ∆ shot at a decoy deer set up by game wardens, believing it was a live deer out of season. Charged with attempting to take a wild deer out of season under 10 V.S.A. § 4745.
  • Issue: Whether legal impossibility precludes a conviction for attempt where, on the facts as they actually existed, no real deer could be taken.
  • Rule: Modern attempt statutes consist of (1) intent to commit the target crime, and (2) some overt act toward its commission. Legal impossibility is no longer a defense under such statutes—what matters is ∆'s intent and conduct, not whether success was factually or legally possible.
  • Analysis: ∆ had specific intent to take a wild deer out of season; ∆'s overt act (shooting) was beyond mere preparation. That the deer was a decoy is no consequence—it is a circumstance ∆ did not know.
  • Judgment: Conviction affirmed.

Reading: pp. 284–91. Modern rejection of legal-impossibility defense. Cf. State v. Guffey, 262 S.W.2d 152 (Mo. App. 1953). See Impossibility.