Legal Definitions - legal impossibility

Legal impossibility is a defense in criminal law that arises when a person intends to commit a crime, but the actions they undertake, even if fully completed as intended, would not actually violate any existing law. This means that regardless of the individual's criminal intent, it is legally impossible for their actions to constitute a crime because the law does not prohibit what they were attempting to do.

• Example 1: Attempting to steal one's own property

  Imagine a person who, due to a severe memory lapse, genuinely believes their own car has been stolen and is now parked in a public lot by someone else. They then proceed to "steal" their car back by picking the lock and driving it away, intending to deprive the perceived thief of the vehicle.

  This scenario illustrates legal impossibility because, while the person had the intent to commit theft, one cannot legally steal property that they already own. Even though their actions mirrored those of a thief, and their intent was to unlawfully take property they believed belonged to another, their actions do not constitute a crime under theft statutes because the car was, in fact, theirs.

• Example 2: Attempting to violate a non-existent law

  Consider an individual who attempts to "smuggle" a common, legally available houseplant across a state border, genuinely believing that there is a specific, obscure law prohibiting the interstate transport of this particular type of plant. In reality, no such law exists in either state or federally.

  This is an example of legal impossibility because, despite the individual's intent to violate a smuggling law, their actions of transporting a legally permissible plant across state lines do not constitute a crime. It is legally impossible to commit smuggling when the item being transported is not subject to any legal restriction or prohibition.

• Example 3: Attempting a crime against a legally non-existent target

  Suppose a person attempts to "bribe" a fictional character from a popular novel by sending money to the author, believing that the fictional character is a real person who can be influenced by a bribe and that such an act is illegal.

  This demonstrates legal impossibility because, while the person had the intent to commit bribery, their actions cannot legally constitute bribery. The target of the bribe (a fictional character) is not a legal entity that can be bribed under the law. It is legally impossible to bribe someone who does not exist in a legal sense, regardless of the briber's mistaken belief.