Is a failed murder-for-hire plot a “crime of violence” under 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c)? That is the question under review by the U.S. Supreme Court in Delligatti v. United States.

The statute provides a minimum five-year sentence for using or carrying a firearm during or in relation to a crime of violence. It defines a “crime of violence” as a crime with an element “the use, attempted use, or threatened use physical force against the person or property of another.” But an attempted murder can occur through inaction or a failure to act, which begs the question whether there is force involved in an attempted, failed plot to commit murder.