Conspiracy Flashcards
Conspiracy Law
No need to prove that the defendant ever came close to actually committing the target crime
Early Common Law
A conspiracy was committed as soon as two persons formed an agreement to commit a crime or immoral act
Traditional Common Law (Bilateral Approach)
An agreement by two or more persons to commit either one or more criminal acts, or one or more acts that might not constitute a crime but were “corrupt, dishonest, fraudulent, immoral, and in that sense illegal.”
Today Most Jurisdictions…
i. Require an agreement to commit a crime
ii. Require proof of some “overt act” by any member of the conspiracy in furtherance of the conspiracy in order to demonstrate the existence of the conspiracy
Overt act does not need to be illegal or central to accomplishing the ultimate goal of the conspiracy
Merger
Conspiracy does not merge with the actual offense as attempt does.
A defendant can be convicted of both the target and the conspiracy to commit a crime.
Actus Reus
i. An agreement (“meeting of the minds”) between guilty parties, PLUS
ii. An overt act to commit the conspiracy
Mens Rea
i. The specific intent to agree and
ii. The intent to commit the target offense
Meeting of the Minds
The majority of the states require a bilateral agreement between parties for a conspiracy to be formed, meaning both/all parties must intend to commit the crime
The Pinkerton Doctrine
Provides that a conspirator is responsible for any crime committed by any other member of the conspiracy, whether or not he assisted, if the offense falls within the scope of the conspiracy or is a reasonably foreseeable consequence of it
Applies after you have established a conspiracy
Extends criminal responsibility to other crimes
The Model Penal Code (Unilateral Approach)
An actual agreement is not required as long as the defendant believes another is agreeing to commit the criminal act
Ladder Conspiracies
i. The agreement or meeting of the minds in inferred
ii. Each member has different responsibility that links together to form the criminal objective
Example: Drug seller → Drug distributor → drug transporter → Drug manufacturer
Wheel Conspiracies
i. There is one person in the middle of the conspiracy and a bunch of different people on the outside who are all in similar positions to another, and are all connected to each other through their relationship to the person in the middle
ii. Each has same function
iii. Need shared single criminal objective involving a “community of interests”
iv. Meeting of the minds can be inferred
Policy
A person who has entered into a conspiracy has demonstrated a firm commitment to criminal activity, and therefore poses a greater threat of actual social harm than a person who has not so agreed
Thought Crimes
Are inherently unconstitutional. A crime must contain an intentional, voluntary act, mere thought is not enough to be a crime
