People may have heard about someone committing conspiracy in the news or elsewhere. Some examples of this crime include a person attempting to hire other people to carry out a murder or robbery. However, many people are unaware of what the act of conspiracy actually entails.
What constitutes criminal conspiracy in the state of New York?
Conspiracy requires intention
For law enforcement to bring a charge of criminal conspiracy, they need to show that the defendant intended to commit an illegal act. Simply talking about wanting to commit a crime is generally not enough to qualify as criminal conspiracy.
Conspiracy requires two or more people
The accepted definition of criminal conspiracy states that there needs to be two or more people involved in the act in order to receive a charge as such. All people involved need to be aware of what is going on and agree to carry out the crime that they discuss together.
Conspiracy does not require carrying out the act
In order for something to be a criminal conspiracy, people only need to have an idea and a plan to carry out a criminal act like robbery. They do not actually need to complete the criminal act to receive a charge. This is why it is important for people to be aware of who they hang out with and what they discuss.
The more people know about criminal conspiracy and what constitutes the charge, the more they can do to prevent getting caught up in activity that could lead to a conspiracy charge.
