T.P.I. -- CRIM. 4.01

CRIMINAL ATTEMPT

            Any person who attempts to commit a criminal offense is guilty of a crime.

            For you to find a person guilty of criminal attempt, the state must have proven beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the following essential elements:¹

            (1)  that the defendant intended to commit the specific offense of

                    ____________________________;

and

            (2) (a)  that the defendant did some act or caused something to happen

                         that would have constituted ___________ if the defendant's

                         beliefs at the time [he] [she] acted had in fact been true;

or

                  (b)  that the defendant did some act intending to cause an essential

                          element of _____________ to occur, and at the time believed the

                          act would cause the element to occur without further action on the

                          defendant's part;

or

                  (c)  that the defendant did some act intending to complete a course of

                          action or cause a result that would constitute ________________

                          under the circumstances, as the defendant believed them to be at

                          the time, and [his] [her] actions constituted a substantial step

                          toward the commission of ______________________.   The

                          defendant's actions do not constitute a substantial step unless the

                          defendant's entire course of action clearly shows [his] [her]                     intent to commit _________________.]²

            [The essential elements necessary to constitute ______________ are (here set out the essential elements).]

or

            [The essential elements necessary to constitute _______________ have been previously set out in these instructions.]

FOOTNOTES

            1.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-12-101(a).

            2.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-12-101(b).

COMMENTS

            1.  Criminal attempt is punished one offense classification lower than the most serious crime attempted.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-12-107(a).  It should be noted, however, that no criminal attempt is committed if the most serious crime attempted is a Class C misdemeanor.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-12-107(a).  Attempt to commit first-degree murder is a Class A felony.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-117(a)(2).

            2.  Elements (2)(a), (2)(b) and (2)(c) set out the three statutory tests for determining if a course of conduct that does not produce a proscribed harm can be classified as an attempt to commit an offense.  (2)(a) is directed at a completed course of conduct, while (2)(b) and (2)(c) focus on conduct that is incomplete in the sense that it is cut short at some point in time before accomplishment of the intended criminal objective.  The three sections are not mutually exclusive, and the proof in any particular trial may dictate that more than one section be charged.  See the Sentencing Commission Comments to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-12-101.

            3.  Renunciation may be asserted as an affirmative defense to criminal attempt under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-12-104.  If properly raised as an affirmative defense, the trial judge should utilize T.P.I. -- CRIM. 40.10 (Renunciation), which appears in the "Defenses" chapter.