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Criminal Law: The Crime of Conspiracy
In theory, the crime of “conspiracy” is straightforward. It is illegal to conspire with others to participate in criminal action. The law’s details, on the other hand, can be complicated and subtle. When does “simply talking” become a concrete enough strategy to be sanctioned? Is there any impact on free speech if “talk” is punished? How far must a plot progress before it becomes a “conspiracy”? These are just a few of the many intricate issues that this area of law deals with.
Conspiracy is an inchoate felony, like attempted and illegal solicitation. This indicates that the criminal outcome isn’t required for culpability to be imposed. If two people, for example, plan to rob a business together, they may be charged with conspiracy even if the crime is not carried out. Robbery is the substantive crime, and the conspiracy to commit robbery is still in the works because it hasn’t been finished.
What Is Crime Of Conspiracy?
The act of agreeing to commit a crime is treated by the law as a “distinct evil” from the crime itself. This means that a person can face charges for both conspiring to commit a crime and committing the crime itself. When comparing conspiracy to another inchoate crime, attempt, this divergence can be seen. When a person attempts and succeeds in committing a crime, the two offenses “merge,” and the defendant can only be charged with the completed crime. In conspiracy cases, merger does not occur.
Take, for example, Mike and Anne’s decision to kill Joseph. They plan ahead of time to kidnap Joseph and stab him to death in a parking lot after work. Whether they carry out the crime or not, they are guilty of murder conspiracy. If, on the other hand, their attack was a spur-of-the-moment decision rather than the result of careful planning, and Joseph survives the assault, they would be charged with attempted murder but not conspiracy to commit murder. In the latter situation, if their attempt succeeds, they will be charged with murder but not attempted murder.
Agreement of Two or More Parties
In most jurisdictions, the crime of conspiracy requires the presence of a specific illegal object.
Some states, however, make it illegal to collude even to carry out legitimate actions if the goal is to engage in behavior that is hazardous to the public’s health. A conspiracy to conduct a loan shark company is an example of this.While lending money to people at excessive interest rates may not be a formal crime, conducting a loan shark enterprise may be considered harmful to the public’s health. As a result, in some countries, the planning of this venture could be considered a conspiracy crime.
To summarize, while conspiracy is a complex crime, the common denominator is that criminal conspiracies necessitate agreements, the intent to agree, the intent to carry out an illegal intent, and, in most cases, at least one overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.