TO DO: LEAVE "TO-DO LIST" AT HOME!

In People v. Naradzay, Jason Naradzay was convicted of two counts of attempted murder in the second degree, attempted burglary in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

Apparently, Naradzay was planning a double homicide, but before he could follow through with the murders, police apprehended him, uncovered a shotgun resting "5 to 10 feet away" from his person and a "to-do list" which outlined the plan.

After an Onondaga County Supreme Court jury found him guilty, Naradzay appealed to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, which reiterated that a person is guilty of an attempt to commit a crime when he is "so near to its accomplishment that in all reasonable probability the crime" would have been committed had police not intervened. According to the AD4, Naradzay's "to-do list," his loaded shotgun, and his close proximity to his intended victims' home went "far beyond mere preparation" and supported the conviction.

A lone dissenter -- Justice Green -- had a problem with that.

Since the law "does not punish evil thoughts," Green thought the defendant shouldn't have been convicted of attempted murder and attempted burglary because Naradzay wasn't "'very near' or 'dangerously near'" to committing the acts because he was "some distance away" from his intended victims' driveway and his weapon was found some "5 to 10 feet away" from him. (Interestingly, the intended victims were also "out of town at the time of the incident.")

To-do: Take an appeal to the New York State Court of Appeals!

To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: People v. Naradzay