10 U.S.C. § 880
Section 880 · Art. 80. Attempts
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 686 court decisions — leading case O'Callahan v. Parker (1969)
Most recently applied in People v. McGhee (November 2023)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 10 U.S.C. § 866 · 10 U.S.C. § 934 · 10 U.S.C. § 859
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) An act, done with specific intent to commit an offense under this chapter, amounting to more than mere preparation and tending, even though failing, to effect its commission, is an attempt to commit that offense.
(b) Any person subject to this chapter who attempts to commit any offense punishable by this chapter shall be punished as a court-martial may direct, unless otherwise specifically prescribed.
(c) Any person subject to this chapter may be convicted of an attempt to commit an offense although it appears on the trial that the offense was consummated.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
880(b) 50:674(a).50:674(b). May 5, 1950, ch. 169, §1 (Art. 80), 64 Stat. 134. 880(c) 50:674(c). In subsection (a), the words “even though” are substituted for the word “but” for clarity.
Cross References
Article to be explained, see section 937 of this title.
Desertion, attempt, see section 885 of this title.