State v. Otto
Idaho Supreme Court
629 P.2d 646 (1981)
- Written by Angela Patrick, JD
Facts
A police captain was investigating Ralph Otto (defendant) about the disappearance of Otto’s wife. Unhappy with being investigated, Otto told a bartender that Otto wanted to hire a hit man to kill the captain. The bartender told the police, and an undercover officer approached Otto, pretending to be a hit man. Otto negotiated with the officer about the price of the kill and spent over an hour discussing the details of how Otto wanted the killing to occur. Otto and the officer agreed that Otto would pay part of the price upfront by putting cash in a cup inside a vehicle. Otto put the deposit money in the vehicle as arranged. Otto was then arrested and convicted of attempted murder. On appeal, Otto argued that (1) the evidence showed that, at most, he had solicited a possible murder and (2) solicitation alone was not enough to commit the crime of attempted murder.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (McFadden, J.)
Dissent (Bakes, C.J.)
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