WK2CLT

Write 150 words on your thoughts about criminal conspiracy? agree or disagree? What you thought was interesting after reading below? pick a case that realtes to this discussion, no title page, cite, and refernces

CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY

A criminal conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to commit or to effect the commission of an unlawful act or to use unlawful means to accomplish an act that is not unlawful. The notion of conspiracy was first formulated by the English Star Chamber in 1611. Under English common law, the term had much the same meaning as it does today. However, while conspiracy was generally considered to be a misdemeanor under common law, most states and the federal government today classify it as a felony. The U.S. Supreme Court has said that “the agreement to commit an unlawful act is a distinct evil, which may exist and be punished whether or not the substantive crime ensues.”39

criminal conspiracy

An agreement between two or more people to commit or to effect the commission of an unlawful act or to use unlawful means to accomplish an act that is not unlawful.

The Commentaries on the Model Penal Code state, “Conspiracy as an offense has two different aspects, reflecting the different functions it serves in the legal system. In the first place, conspiracy is an inchoate crime, complementing the provisions dealing with attempt and solicitation in reaching preparatory conduct before it has matured into commission of a substantive offense. Second, it is a means of striking against the special danger incident to group activity, facilitating prosecution of the group, and yielding a basis for imposing added penalties when combination is involved.”

According to legal commentator Paul Marcus, striking changes in criminal conspiracy prosecutions during the past two decades include an enormous growth in the number of cases involving many defendants, an increase in the prevalence of complex evidentiary issues, and increasingly complicated charges brought against defendants in conspiracy cases.40 Cases he cites as examples include (1) United States v. Casamento (1989),41 involving 21 defendants, 275 witnesses, and 40,000 pages of transcripts; (2) United States v. Ianniello (1989),42 a 13-month trial with 11 defendants; (3) United States v. Kopituk (1982),43 a case that had 12 defendants and 130 witnesses; and (4) United States v. Martino (1981),44 with 20 defendants and more than 200 witnesses. Many of today’s conspiracy cases involve drug trafficking, in which several people agree to work in concert to manufacture, transport, and distribute controlled substances.