Guiding Commitments and Criminal Liability for Attempts

Abstract

The" Guiding Commitment View" is central to Yaffe's account of attempts in general, and of criminal attempts in particular. I argue, first, that it is too wide, since it does not provide a plausible distinction between attempts and "mere preparation"; second, that on the other hand Yaffe does not do enough to justify a law of criminal attempts, rather than a broader law that would also cover endangerment; and third, that the Guiding Commitment View cannot deal with some difficult issues about the circumstantial aspects of criminal attempts.