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Supreme Court of Virginia· 6/20/1889

Hicks v. Commonwealth

Citations

  • 86 Va. 223
  • 9 S.E. 1024
  • 1889 Va. LEXIS 29

Syllabus

<p>1. Criminal proceedings—Attempt to poison—Indictment—Demurrer.—An indictment for attempt to administer poison under Code 1887, sec. 3699, that does not allege such acts as, in a legal sense, constitute an attempt to commit the offence charged, but only such as show preparation, is demurrable.</p> <p>2. Idem—Criminal attempt.—An attempt to commit a crime consists of (1) the intent; (2) a direct, ineffectual act towards its commission; and that act must reach far enough towards the accomplishment of the desired result to amount to the commencement of the consummation.</p> <p>3. Idem—Cose at bar.—The evidence in this case shows only a procurement of the poison and an ineffectual solicitation of a third party to put it in the drink of the intended victim, which acts constitute not an attempt, but only a preparation.</p>

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

  • defendant purchased strychnine and gave it to agent with instructions to place it in the victim’s coffee: these were only preparatory measures and not an attempt
  • defendant purchased strychnine and gave it to agent with instructions to place it in the victim's coffee: these were only preparatory measures and not an attempt

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).

Judges: Avis, Hinton

Read full opinion on CourtListener

Cited by

39 cases in this archive cite this case; the 20 most cited are listed.

Cites

1 case in this archive is cited by this case.

Other cases named Hicks v. Commonwealth

24 other CourtListener records share this case name.

Sourced from CourtListener / Free Law Project (CC0).

This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.