Commonwealth v. Vann Bell

If sheer volume of literature be the measure of fascination, then few subjects have been as intriguing for criminal law scholars as the nexus between the doctrine of impossibility and the crime of attempt.1 Perhaps this is so because that subject raises issues that are central to the fundamental question of what kinds of conduct warrant the application of the criminal sanction.2 In this case we are asked to *267consider the application of the concepts of impossibility and attempt to a technique that has become integral to law enforcement — the undercover “sting” operation.

A police undercover…