Everything about Solicitation totally explained
In the
United States,
solicitation is a
crime; it's an
inchoate offense 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 intent 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 can't exclude Jehovah's Witnesses, political candidates or others who advocate a position, but don't offer or request money. In the other
common law countries, the situation is different:
In
England and Wales, the term
soliciting alone refers to "loitering or soliciting in a public place for the purpose of
prostitution" under the
Street Offences Act 1959(External Link
). For the latest Home Office proposals on this offence, see
(External Link).
It isn't 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
undercover police officer).
For example, if Alice commands Bob to
assault 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
consent), then there's no solicitation.
An interesting twist on solicitation occurs when a third party that the solicitor didn't 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 can't 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
murder is often considered a
capital offense, and has its own
statute. Other examples might be solicitation of
prostitution, or solicitation of a
bribe.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Solicitation'.
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