Attempt is a felony that carries a variable penalty between 5 and 10 years in the State Penitentiary depending on what crime was attempted.

If you have been charged with this crime, do not speak to the police and do not delay!

Call us at 248-676-2233 NOW, and speak with an experienced criminal defense attorney. 

Black's Law Dictionary defines an "Attempt" as an overt act, beyond mere preparation, moving  directly toward the actual commission of a substantive offense. It is an offense, separate and distinct from the object crime.   In some circumstances, a prosecutor may offer a plea deal in which the defendant can plead to an "attempt" to commit a specific crime and this will cut any potential prison sentence roughly in half. This is done in cases where the defendant may have a fairly clean record and they are willing to give the defendant a break, or where the prosecutor knows he may have a difficult time proving the case at trial. 
 

CJI2d 9.1   Michigan Criminal Jury Instructions - Elements of the crime.
Attempt

1. The defendant is charged with attempting to commit the crime of __________. To prove the defendant's guilt, the prosecutor must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
2. First, that the defendant intended to commit ____________, which is defined as [state elements from the appropriate instructions defining the crime].
3. Second, that the defendant took some action toward committing the alleged crime, but failed to complete the crime. It is not enough to prove that the defendant made preparations for committing the crime. Things like planning the crime or arranging how it will be committed are just preparations; they do not qualify as an attempt. In order to qualify as an attempt, the action must go beyond mere preparation, to the point where the crime would have been completed if it hadn't been interrupted by outside circumstances. To qualify as an attempt, the act must clearly and directly be related to the crime that the defendant is charged with attempting and not some other objective.
4. You may convict the defendant of attempting to commit __________ even if the evidence convinces you that the crime was actually completed.]

ATTEMPT AS A LESSER OFFENSE
CJI2d 9.2
Attempt As Lesser Offense

1. The defendant is also charged with the less serious crime of attempted __________. To prove that the defendant attempted to commit this crime, the prosecutor must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
2. First, that the defendant intended to commit __________, which is defined as [state elements from the appropriate instructions defining the crime].
3. Second, that the defendant took some action toward committing the alleged crime, but failed to complete the crime. It is not enough to prove that the defendant made preparations for committing the crime. Things like planning the crime or arranging how it will be committed are just preparations; they do not qualify as an attempt. In order to qualify as an attempt, the action must go beyond mere preparation, to the point where the crime would have been completed if it had not been interrupted by outside circumstances. To qualify as an attempt, the act must clearly and directly be related to the crime that the defendant is charged with attempting and not some other objective.

Penalty under Michigan Codified Law (Statutory law)
750.92 Attempt to commit crime. 
Sec. 92.

Attempt to commit crime—Any person who shall attempt to commit an offense prohibited by law, and in such attempt shall do any act towards the commission of such offense, but shall fail in the perpetration, or shall be intercepted or prevented in the execution of the same, when no express provision is made by law for the punishment of such attempt, shall be punished as follows:

1. If the offense attempted to be committed is such as is punishable with death, the person convicted of such attempt shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not more than 10 years;
2. If the offense so attempted to be committed is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for life, or for 5 years or more, the person convicted of such attempt shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not more than 5 years or in the county jail not more than 1 year;
3. If the offense so attempted to be committed is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for a term less than 5 years, or imprisonment in the county jail or by fine, the offender convicted of such attempt shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison or reformatory not more than 2 years or in any county jail not more than 1 year or by a fine not to exceed 1,000 dollars; but in no case shall the imprisonment exceed 1/2 of the greatest punishment which might have been inflicted if the offense so attempted had been committed.