Attempted Murder

New Jersey Attempted Murder Law

Attempted murder isn’t an offense that is specifically contained in the New Jersey Criminal Code. Instead, it is a charge that arises out of the general attempt statute. Criminal attempt is set forth at N.J.S.A. 2C:5-1 and is intended to penalize individuals who attempt to commit a crime but, for whatever reason, are unsuccessful. This law provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

A person is guilty of an attempt to commit a crime if, acting with the kind of culpability otherwise required for commission of the crime, he:

(1) Purposely engages in conduct which would constitute the crime if the attendant circumstances were as a reasonable person would believe them to be;

(2) When causing a particular result is an element of the crime, does or omits to do anything with the purpose of causing such result without further conduct on his part; or

(3) Purposely does or omits to do anything which, under the circumstances as a reasonable person would believe them to be, is an act or omission constituting a substantial step in a course of conduct planned to culminate in his commission of the crime.

Elements The Prosecutor Must Prove In Order To Obtain A Conviction

In order to be convicted of attempted murder in the state of New Jersey the prosecution must convince a jury that all of the following elements were a result of the defendant’s actions or omissions:

1. The defendant intended or had a purpose to cause the death of the victim;
2. He or she took a substantial step towards the commission of the crime (e.g. the hiring of a hitman, firing a weapon at someone, etc.); and
3. The victim was not killed

If all three elements cannot be established by the prosecution, the charge must be dismissed. Conversely, a conviction will be secured if each are established beyond reasonable doubt.

You will note that there must be purposeful conduct in order for someone to commit a NJ attempted murder offense.
This means that a person cannot recklessly or negligently commit attempted murder. It also means that the accused must reasonably believe that their act(s) or material omissions will lead to the death of another. Lastly, the involvement of the defendant must be more than mere preparation, more specifically, there must be a “substantial step” to commit murder.

Conspiracy to Commit Attempted Murder

Criminal conspiracy is when two or more people decide to work together to engage in some type of criminal activity. The three (3) elements of conspiracy to commit murder are: (1) an agreement between two or more persons; (2) the objective of the agreement is to commit a murder; and (3) the accused took a substantial step toward the commission of the offense.

The gist of a charge for conspiracy to commit murder is that a group intended to carry out a murder, took a substantial step toward commission of the offense, but the death was averted.

Defenses to a NJ Attempted Murder Charge

There are several defenses that an accomplished NJ attempted murder lawyer can use to defeat this charge. The defenses are:

Reasonable Doubt. A skilled attorney will do their best to create reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case by attacking evidence that establishes the above elements of the crime. Furthermore, a good defense attorney will look at the available defenses. Attempted murder with a culpable mental state may be justified or excused if the defendant can prove one of the affirmative defenses afforded by the state of New Jersey. The affirmative defenses available for attempted murder are self-defense, defense of others, necessity, insanity, diminished capacity, and renunciation of criminal purpose.

Self-defense. Self-defense occurs when a defendant has a reasonable belief that his use of force is necessary to protect themself from the imminent unlawful force of another. The standard is, what would a reasonable person do under the same circumstances and with the same knowledge as the defendant. If it is determined that a reasonable person could have acted the same way in which the defendant did, then the crime is justified or excused.

Defense of Others. Defense of others is an affirmative defense similar to self-defense but involves the protection of a third-party. Defense of others requires that a defendant demonstrate two qualifications. First, that the person the defendant sought to aid was justified in using the same force the defendant ultimately used. Second, that the defendant reasonably believed that an intervention was necessary, under the circumstances, to protect the other person from unlawful harm.

Necessity. Necessity is an affirmative defense that occurs when a defendant commits an offense but for a reason that is justified by a necessity. There are four basic elements of necessity: (1) an emergency (2) emergency must be imminent and compelling, raising reasonable expectation of harm (3) no reasonable way to avoid injury without committing the crime (4) the potential injury from the emergency must outweigh the seriousness of the crime committed. An example of necessity would be a defendant climbing over a fence and criminally trespassing to avoid being attacked by a large animal.

Insanity. Insanity is an affirmative defense that occurs when a defendant commits a crime without knowledge or understanding of his actions. Insanity means that a defendant is not criminally responsible for his conduct due to a disease of the mind which keeps them from understanding the nature or quality of the criminal act, or if they do know, a lack of understanding that what they did is wrong.

Diminished Capacity. Diminished capacity is an affirmative defense that is used to negate one of the essential elements of a crime. Diminished capacity means that the defendant has a mental illness or defect that makes it impossible for him to understand what he is doing and this eliminates the mens rea element needed to convict for a crime.

Renunciation. Renunciation of criminal purpose is an affirmative defense that is specifically related to criminal attempt. Renunciation of criminal purpose is a defense that is used when a defendant abandons his effort to commit a crime or otherwise prevents its commission. It should be noted that this defense does not work for other liable accomplices who did not join in the abandonment.

Deadly Weapons and Attempted Murder

A Deadly weapon is defined by statute as being “any firearm or other weapon, device, instrument, material or substance, whether animate or inanimate, which in the manner it is used or is intended to be used, is known to be capable of producing death…” N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1.

In the context of attempted murder, use of a deadly weapon tends to make the prosecutor’s burden slightly easier since it manifests a clear intent to cause a fatal injury. For example, if a defendant was to shoot a handgun at a victim it would logically follow that the actor’s intent to cause a homicide. Even if the defendant misses the victim completely, due to the nature of the weapon including the fact that guns are likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, the defendant could likely be charged with attempted murder.

Criminal Homicide and Attempted Murder

Unlike attempted murder, a person must pass away for there to be a charge for criminal homicide. When someone dies in New Jersey their cause of death is ruled into one of five categories which include homicide, suicide, accident, natural causes, and undetermined causes. A homicide is when a person’s death is caused by another person, homicide is the only cause of death that can result in someone being charged with murder. However, it should be noted that a homicide is not always criminal and there are instances when someone causes the death of another and they are not criminally prosecuted.

A person is guilty of criminal homicide if they purposely, knowingly, or recklessly cause the death of another human being. Criminal homicide is broken down into three categories including  murder, manslaughter, or death by auto. In order for someone to be convicted of murder (N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3) the state must prove that a homicide occurred, that the defendant caused the death or caused serious bodily harm that resulted in the death, and that the defendant acted either purposefully or knowingly. A murder can also occur if someone dies in the course of committing or attempting to commit certain felonies.

Some of the common issues that occur with criminal homicide include the following:

• The length of time between the assault and the victims death will not bar someone from a criminal homicide prosecution
• New Jersey case law excludes a fetus from the definition of a human being when it comes to homicide
• Murder and manslaughter are not subject to a statute of limitations, other homicide crimes are subject to a general five-year statute of limitations (this can get complicated because the five-year rule might not being until DNA or fingerprint testing are brought to the attention of a prosecutor)

Contact Our Experienced Attempted Murder Attorneys For Help

At Marshall Criminal Defense, our team is made up of former county prosecutors and adept criminal lawyers who are highly knowledgeable in homicide defense. One of our attorneys was, in fact, a lead homicide prosecutor in one of the state’s busiest counties for this type of crime. We also have an established statewide reputation and vast resources to put into action on behalf of our clients. To reach an attorney with the skills needed to successfully defend your attempted murder offense, call 855-450-8310. We will provide an initial legal consultation at no charge including exploring all potential defense strategies.