Under the merger doctrine as this term is used in criminal law, lesser included offenses generally merge into the greater offense. Therefore, a person who commits a robbery can not be convicted of both the robbery and the larceny that was part of it.
Solicitation to commit a crime and attempt to commit a crime, although not strictly speaking lesser included offenses, merge into the completed crime. As an important exception, the crime of conspiracy does not merge into the completed crime. Even if any states were to eliminate the doctrine, a conviction for both an offense and any of its lesser-included offenses, not tried in the same case, would not withstand scrutiny under the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 (1932).
Read more about this topic: Lesser Included Offense
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