Legal Definitions - true legal impossibility

True legal impossibility refers to a situation where, even if an individual intends to commit a crime and takes actions they believe would achieve that crime, the intended offense cannot legally occur because the law itself does not prohibit the specific conduct or circumstances involved. In such cases, the actions performed, even with criminal intent, do not constitute a crime under the existing legal framework.

Here are some examples illustrating true legal impossibility:

• Imagine a person, Alex, who believes a rare antique vase has been stolen from a museum. Alex agrees to buy the vase at a significantly reduced price from someone they believe is the thief, intending to profit from stolen property. However, unknown to Alex, the vase was never actually stolen; it was legitimately sold by the museum to a private collector who then decided to sell it. Because the vase was never stolen, Alex cannot be legally guilty of receiving stolen property, even though Alex believed it was stolen and intended to commit that crime. The legal element of the property being "stolen" is missing, making the crime legally impossible.

• Consider a scenario where a local business owner, Brenda, attempts to bribe a city council member, Chris, to vote in favor of a zoning change. Brenda offers Chris a substantial sum of money, believing this will influence the official decision. However, Chris is not actually a city council member; they are a private citizen who merely shares a similar name with a council member, and Brenda made a mistake in identity. While Brenda had the intent to bribe a public official, the person Brenda attempted to bribe was not, by law, a public official capable of being bribed for that specific official action. Therefore, the crime of bribing a public official is legally impossible in this instance.

• Suppose a country has a law prohibiting the sale of a certain type of exotic animal. David, unaware that this law was recently repealed, attempts to sell such an animal, believing he is committing an illegal act. Even though David has the intent to violate what he believes is the law, the act of selling that animal is no longer legally prohibited. Since the law itself no longer defines the sale of that animal as a crime, it is legally impossible for David to commit that particular offense, regardless of his criminal intent or belief.