Facts: Petitioner Mitel Patel was convicted of the attempted second degree rape of a child in the Superior Court for Spokane County after being arrested as a result of a police sting operation in which a police officer posed as a thirteen year old girl and arranged via the internet to meet Patel for sex. Patel subsequently appealed his conviction, asserting that the state could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the intended victim was a child insofar as the intended victim was a fictitious character. The Washington Court of Appeals affirmed Patel’s conviction, holding that as Patel intended to have sex with a minor it was irrelevant that he could not have completed the act. Patel appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Washington.

Question(s): Does the impossibility of Patel completing the crime he was convicted of attempting preclude criminal liability?

Conclusion: Justice Chambers’ opinion for the Court affirmed the Washington Court of Appeals, concluding that impossibility did not preclude criminal liability for Patel as the state need only prove that a defendant specifically intended to have sex with a minor and took a substantial step toward doing so in cases involving the attempted rape of a child in which the intended victim is a fictitious character created by the police.

Docket No. 82649-8 (from Court of Appeals Division III Case No. 26683-4)

Petitioner: Mitel Patel

(Counsel: Richard David Wall)

Respondent: State of Washington

(Counsel: Mark Erik Lindsey)

Briefs:

Argument: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 1:30pm

[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]

Decided: Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

Prevailing Party: State of Washington (Respondent)

Vote: 9-0

Citation: Pending

Court: Madsen1 Court (2010-2011)

Madsen
(Concurs)

Johnson

Alexander

Sanders
(Concurs)

Chambers
(Majority)

Owens

Fairhurst

Johnson

Stephens