Also known as: mergers of offenses · offense merger · offenses merger · merger doctrine · merger rule
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A common-law doctrine under which a lesser offense merges into a greater offense arising from the same conduct, barring separate convictions for both. The rule prevents cumulative punishment by treating the lesser crime as absorbed into the felony when the offenses stem from a single transaction or when an inchoate offense precedes a completed crime.
Cameron shoved Quinn aside and seized her handbag in one continuous motion inside the store. The Commonwealth charged both battery and robbery arising from the same act. Because the misdemeanor formed part of the conduct constituting the felony, the battery merged into the robbery. Cameron may be convicted only of the greater offense.
Alex offered to pay a coworker to steal trade secrets and the coworker completed the theft. The state charged both solicitation and the completed larceny arising from the same scheme. Because the inchoate misdemeanor merged into the felony once the crime was accomplished, Alex may be convicted only of the greater offense.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Ronald conspired with a foreign buyer to steal aerospace designs and solicited a coworker to help download files. The theft was completed by another participant in the scheme. The completed felony absorbed the attempt and solicitation charges, but the conspiracy conviction stands independently.
Dana met with fake policyholders to stage accidents and then approved multiple bogus insurance claims over several months. The prosecution charged both conspiracy and the completed fraud counts. Because the conspiracy consisted solely of preparation for the very crimes that were carried out, it merged into the substantive offenses at conviction.
Jordan attempted to enter a warehouse by prying a lock but was interrupted. Later the same night a confederate completed the burglary. The prosecution charged both attempt and the completed felony from the same episode. Because the inchoate offense merged into the greater crime, Jordan may be convicted only of burglary.
No. At common law, conspiracy does not merge into the completed offense and remains independently chargeable even when the substantive crime is accomplished.
Supporting sources
Merger occurs when the misdemeanor forms part of the same act or transaction that constitutes the felony, preventing separate convictions for both offenses.
Supporting sources
The preparatory offense merges into the completed crime at the conviction stage, so the defendant may be convicted only of the completed offense.
Supporting sources
…offense in one provision, § 1951, manifested an intent not to punish commission of two offenses cumulatively. Unlike the merger doctrine, petitioner’s position does not question that the Government could charge a conspiracy even when the substantive crime that was its object had been completed. His concern is with the…