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Solicitation

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	Solicitation
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	Topics Solicitation Topic Home In the United StatesUnited States The United States of America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., and America, is... , solicitation is a crimeCrime A crime in a nontechnical sense is an act that violates a political or moral rule.... ; it is an inchoate offenseInchoate offense An inchoate offence is a crime. Generally it refers to the act of preparing for or seeking to commit another crime.... that consists of a person offering money or something else of value in order to incite or induce another to commit a crime with the specific intentIntention (criminal) In the criminal law, intention is one of the three general classes of mens rea necessary to constitute a conventional'... that the person solicited commit the crime. The term 'solicitation' always implies some sort of commercial element (payment). Local ordinances that forbid solicitation may prevent door-to-door sales, but they cannot exclude Jehovah's Witnesses, political candidates or others who advocate a position, but do not offer or request money. Putting Fliers on a door is not soliciting. In the other common lawCommon law The common law forms a major part of the law of many countries, especially those with a history as British territories or co... countries, the situation is different: where the substantive offense is not committed, the charges are drawn from incitementIncitement In English criminal law, incitement is an anticipatory common law offence and is the act of persuading, encouraging, instiga... , conspiracy, and attemptAttempt The essence of the crime of attempt is that the defendant has failed to commit the actus reus of the full offence, but h... ; where the substantive offense is committed, the charges are drawn from conspiracyConspiracy (crime) In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more natural persons to break the law at some time in the f... , counseling and procuring (see accessoriesAccessory (legal term) An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a crime, but does not actually participate in the commission of th... ), and the substantive offenses as joint principals (see common purposeCommon purpose In criminal law, the doctrine of common purpose, common design or joint enterprise refers to the situation where... ). In England and WalesEngland and Wales \| align="center" \|\|\|}England and Wales are home nations of the United Kingdom and, because they share the same legal system, ... , the term soliciting alone refers to "loitering or soliciting in a public place for the purpose of prostitutionProstitution in the United Kingdom Prostitution in the United Kingdom is not formally illegal, but several activities surrounding it are outlawed.... " under the Street Offences Act 1959. For the latest Home Office proposals on this offence, see . It is not necessary that the person actually commit the crime, nor is it necessary that the person solicited be willing or able to commit the crime (such as if the "solicitee" were an undercoverUndercover Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an i... police officerPolice officer A police officer is a person who works for a police force.... ). For example, if Alice commands Bob to assaultFacts About Assault Assault is a crime of violence against another person.... Charlie and Alice intends for Bob to assault Charlie, then Alice is guilty of solicitation. However, if Alice commands Bob to assault Charlie without intending that an actual crime be committed (perhaps believing that Charlie has given consentConsent Consent as a term of jurisprudence is a possible excuse against civil or criminal liability.... ), then there is no solicitation. An interesting twist on solicitation occurs when a third party that the solicitor did not intend to receive the incitement overhears the request to the original solicitee and unbeknownst to the solicitor, commits the target offense. In a minority of jurisdictions in the United States, this situation would still be considered solicitation even though the defendant never intended the person that committed the crime to have done so. Solicitation is also subject to the doctrine of merger, which applies in situations where the person solicited actually commits the crime. In such a situation, both Alice and Bob could be charged with the crime as accomplices, which would preclude conviction under solicitation; a person cannot be punished for both solicitation and the crime solicited. Note that solicitation can apply to just about any criminal act. There are also many statutes for specific solicitation crimes. For example, solicitation of murderMurder A Murder is the unjust, immoral and/or illegal killing of another human being.... is often considered a capital offense, and has its own statuteStatute A statute is a formal, written law of a country or state, written and enacted by its legislative authority, perhaps to then ... . Other examples might be solicitation of prostitutionProstitution Prostitution is the sale of sexual services for money or other kind of return.... , or solicitation of a bribeBribery Bribery is a crime implying a sum or gift given alters the behaviour of the person in ways not consistent with the duties of... . See also Criminal lawCriminal law Criminal law is the body of statutory and common law that deals with crime and the legal punishment of criminal offenses....