New York impossibility defense to attempt: which statement is correct?

• A. Legal impossibility is a defense
• B. Factual impossibility is a defense
• C. Both legal and factual impossibility are defenses
• D. Neither legal nor factual impossibility is a defense

Answer: (D)

In New York, liability for an attempt hinges on intent plus a substantial step toward the crime, not on whether the crime could actually be completed. Impossibility—whether factual or legal—does not excuse an attempted crime.

Factual impossibility (unknown facts that would prevent completion) is not a defense because the defendant has shown the criminal plan and taken a substantial step toward it. Legal impossibility (the act, as planned, would not be illegal) is also not a defense for the same reason: the focus is on the defendant’s intent and conduct toward a criminal objective, not on how the law would classify the completed act.

So, neither type of impossibility serves as a defense to an attempted crime.