What is involved in building a defense against conspiracy charges?

Building a Defense Against Conspiracy Charges

Being charged with conspiracy can be scary. It often means the government thinks you were involved in planning some kind of criminal activity. But just because you’re charged doesn’t mean you’re guilty. There are ways to build a strong defense against conspiracy charges.

What is Conspiracy?

Legally, a conspiracy is when two or more people agree to commit a crime or illegal act, and then at least one of them takes some action to follow through on the plan. The key elements are the agreement and the action. You don’t actually have to commit the planned crime to be charged with conspiracy.

Some common types of conspiracy charges include:

• Drug conspiracy – agreeing to manufacture, distribute, or possess illegal drugs
• Fraud conspiracy – planning to commit fraud or financial crimes
• Bribery conspiracy – scheming to bribe a public official
• Murder conspiracy – plotting to kill someone

Conspiracy charges can lead to serious penalties. That’s why building a strong defense is so important if you’re accused of conspiracy.

Fighting the Charges

Here are some strategies that may help fight conspiracy charges:

Claim no agreement

For a conspiracy charge, the prosecution has to prove you agreed with others to commit a crime. If you can show there was no real agreement, it defeats an essential element of conspiracy.

You may argue you never agreed to any plan, or that discussions were just idle talk that never solidified into an agreement. Calling witnesses who participated in the conversations can help demonstrate there was no real agreement.

Claim you withdrew before action

In most states, you can defend against conspiracy charges by proving you withdrew from the conspiracy before any action was taken to further the plan. This is called “renunciation.”

To prove renunciation, you must show you took definite, decisive steps to disavow the conspiracy and communicated that withdrawal to the other members. That way, even if others went ahead with criminal acts, you cannot be considered a conspirator since you already backed out.

Attack the evidence

A conspiracy charge often relies heavily on circumstantial evidence about conversations, relationships, actions, and events. Poking holes in the evidence can raise doubt about your involvement.

For example, if the prosecution’s theory rests on wiretapped calls, scrutinize the recordings to show your voice is not identifiable or conversations are too vague to prove any clear agreement. If co-conspirators made statements against you, undermine their credibility due to bias, lack of knowledge, or motives to lie.

Claim you were entrapped

If government agents pushed you into committing a crime you otherwise wouldn’t have agreed to, you may have a defense of entrapment. This applies when police or informants improperly induced or coerced you into conspiring to commit an offense.

To prove entrapment, you must show you lacked any predisposition to commit the crime until law enforcement pressured you through tactics like persuasion, fraudulent representations, threats, or other inducements.

Argue against intent

Prosecutors have to establish you intended to enter into a criminal agreement or scheme. If you can show you had no criminal intent, it defeats a key element of conspiracy.

For example, you may have participated in discussions without realizing their unlawful nature. Or perhaps you were unaware the “agreement” involved actual plans to commit a crime.

Getting Help from an Attorney

Fighting conspiracy charges takes experience. The law is complex and the evidence is often complicated. Having a knowledgeable criminal defense attorney is crucial.

An attorney can evaluate the prosecution’s case and pinpoint where to attack its weaknesses. They know how to gather evidence and call witnesses to rebut the charges. And if negotiating a plea deal becomes necessary, they can secure the best resolution.

The stakes are high, so don’t go it alone against conspiracy charges. Get an experienced lawyer in your corner.