A criminal conspiracy, also known as a crime partnership, happens if you and at least one other person settle to perpetrate an offense and you or your co-conspirators engage in overt conduct to further the crime. You can face charges and risk sentencing even when you failed to commit the violation. The critical aspect of the case that the prosecutor must demonstrate is that one of those conspiring engaged in action to further the agreed violation.

Partnership in criminal activity is a severe offense, and a guilty verdict results in harsh penalties, including jail incarceration and a record that haunts you after completing your sentence. Speaking to a criminal defense lawyer can safeguard your future and freedom. Highlighted below is conspiracy as prescribed under California statutes.

Conspiracy Legal Definition

According to PEN 182, conspiracy happens when at least two people agree to perpetuate a criminal violation. The prosecutor will file the charges against you if you or a member of the crime partnership commits an act in furtherance of the planned offense. The overt act should happen after you and the accomplices have settled to contravene the law.

Behavior that comprises criminal conspiracy includes:

  • A scheme to engage in a misdemeanor or felony offense.
  • Plot to falsely move an action, lawsuit, or proceeding.
  • Plot to maliciously accuse someone or set them up for arrest for an offense they never committed.
  • A scheme to defraud an entity or individual through criminal means.
  • Plot to obstruct justice, harm or commit conduct detrimental to public health.
  • A conspiracy to participate in a criminal act against a public or peace officer like the American president, a state governor, or judge.

The prosecutor will find you guilty of a conspiracy count if they can demonstrate all the crime's facts beyond moral certainty. The DA, or prosecutor, should demonstrate that:

  • You, the defendant, agreed with at least one person to engage in a criminal violation. Under PEN 182, an agreement or arrangement does not necessarily have to be detailed or formalized. The arrangement between the parties could be concluded from your behavior if you share a common goal of engaging in crime. When demonstrating this fact, the prosecutor should provide proof that you and your co-conspirators had an arrangement to contravene the law.
  • A conspiracy member engaged in an overt act to advance the agreed-upon offense. An overt act is any conduct done to advance or accomplish a crime after an agreement or plan has been made. The conduct in furtherance can be a legal or innocent act. It can be a simple act like purchasing a weapon, renting an automobile, making a phone call, or signaling an accomplice. You can only be guilty of a PEN 182 violation if you or your accomplices took specific steps towards advancing the arranged offense.
  • One or more overt acts happened in California. The DA should show that overt conduct took place within the state. If the attempts happened out-of-state, you will face conspiracy charges under federal law.

Accompanying or associating with conspiracy members is not a PEN 182 contravention. Additionally, if you lacked intent to commit the alleged crime, you are innocent of the charges. However, the law does not require you to know all identities of the conspiracy members to be guilty.

California Conspiracy Penalties

A PEN 182 conspiracy is a separate crime charged and punished alongside the baseline offense. So, when the police arrest you and your accomplices for a criminal violation, you will face counts for conspiring and the actual offense. Nevertheless, you should know that a conspiracy conviction is possible even if you failed to commit the agreed-upon crime.

Conspiracy under California statutes is a wobbler, giving the prosecutor discretion to file the offense as a misdemeanor or felony contingent on the case's circumstances. If the plot was to engage in a felony crime, you risk felony penalties like those for the underlying offense.

For instance, when you and your friend plot to engage in a robbery, but only your friend goes on to participate in the offense, you will face felony charges. However, upon sentencing, the court will impose robbery penalties. Conversely, your accomplice who acted on the agreement by committing the robbery will face both conspiracy and robbery counts.

Any form of conspiracy that does not involve plotting an offense against the American president, public official, or peace officer attracts at most twelve months of jail incarceration or imprisonment for thirty-six months. A conspiracy involving a criminal violation against a government official or peace officer attracts 108 months of prison incarceration when found guilty. Even if you change your mind after plotting to perpetuate a crime and refuse to participate in its commission, you will still be guilty of the offenses perpetuated by your crime partners but within the plot's scope.

A guilty verdict under PC 182 can also adversely impact your immigration standing. Therefore, when the court convicts you, an alien, of plotting to perpetuate a moral turpitude crime or an aggravated felony, you risk removal from the country or inadmissibility.

A moral turpitude offense involves behavior that is unacceptable to society or has high dishonesty levels. These are:

  • Child abuse.
  • Manslaughter.
  • Obtaining stolen goods.
  • Making criminal threats.
  • Assault with a lethal weapon.
  • Murder.
  • Sale or distribution of controlled substances.
  • Refusal to enlist as a sexual predator after a sex offense conviction.

Record Expunction

A guilty verdict for a PEN 182 violation attracts severe immigration repercussions. A criminal record for the crime also negatively impacts the integrity of your statement as an eyewitness. If you seek state licensure, obtaining a permit with a criminal record can be challenging.

Similarly, criminal records are available to the public, and potential employers can see them when they run background checks. Even if the law prohibits employers from discriminating against applicants based on their criminal records, they will be reluctant to hire you because of the record. Thankfully, you can avoid all these disabilities associated with a conspiracy criminal record by expunging the conviction under PEN 1203.4.

A conviction for conspiracy is eligible for expunction when you complete probation or the imposed jail sentence and do not have a pending additional charge. If the court grants your petition for expungement, they will reverse the guilty verdict or no contest.

An expunction will virtually discharge you from all disabilities and collateral consequences from a guilty verdict. Once the records are sealed, they will be inaccessible to the general public. Even if a potential employer runs background checks, they will not see the records. Also, you can confidently say you have never been convicted without lying.

Viable Defenses Against PEN 182 Violations

All conspiracy cases are unique and vary depending on the offense you are alleged to be plotting to accomplish. The consequences of the offense are life-altering and harsh. Thankfully, you can prevent a guilty verdict by hiring a profound criminal lawyer to evaluate your case and craft solid defenses for a favorable outcome.

You should be aware that the prosecutor will sell you the idea that your case is entirely hopeless, so you should agree to a plea deal whereby you enter a guilty plea for a lesser offense. The first deal the prosecutor brings to the table is never the best. Besides, pleading guilty to conspiracy when you never committed the offense is a bad idea. Let your lawyer evaluate any deals the prosecutor offers based on the case's facts. The viable defenses your lawyer will use to contest conspiracy charges are:

There was No Agreement

You are only guilty of partnering to break the law if the prosecutor shows that you and other co-conspirators agreed to accomplish a crime. You are innocent if the prosecutor cannot meet the evidentiary standard for criminal cases when proving this element. You cannot be convicted of a PC 182 violation unless the DA shows an arrangement between the conspiracy members. Therefore, you can always contest the charge by arguing that an agreement is non-existent.

It is worth understanding that conspiracy cases do not have formal agreements. Therefore, the only proof the prosecutor uses to prove a contract exists is circumstantial evidence. Without a confession from you or a co-conspirator, the DA finds it challenging to prove this element of the case, giving your lawyer the chance to contest the allegations and prevent a guilty verdict.

There is No Overt Behavior in Conspiracy Advancement

Agreeing or planning to perpetuate an offense is insufficient to warrant conspiracy charges. The prosecutor can only secure a guilty verdict if you or any other conspiracy member attempts to perpetrate the planned offense or engages in conduct to advance the offense. Therefore, your lawyer can fight the charges by arguing that there was no attempt to accomplish the crime or that none of the conspiracy members engaged in an overt act.

You Withdrew from the Partnership in an Offense

Timely withdrawal or backing out from a conspiracy can help you deter the penalties of a conviction. Nevertheless, your lawyer must demonstrate that you communicated your withdrawal to other conspiracy members and that the backing out happened before an attempt to commit the crime. If you never notified your crime partners of your withdrawal from the plot, you will still be guilty of the offense even if you never participated in its commission.

For instance, Mary and Joseph agree to engage in auto theft. None of them makes any attempts to accomplish the crime. Later, Mary notifies Joseph that she wants to withdraw from the agreement. Under the circumstances, Mary cannot be convicted of conspiracy. However, if Joseph had engaged in action to advance the car theft by buying rubber gloves before Mary withdrew from the agreement, she would have been convicted of conspiracy.

Other viable defenses your lawyer can mount to prevent a conviction or for a charge reduction include:

  • Arguing that you were unaware of the conduct's nature. However, the defense only applies in obscure offenses, and you should present a lack of knowledge proof.
  • You lacked actual intent or motive to participate in the offense.
  • When charged with partnering with your spouse to perpetuate a crime, your lawyer can argue you were unaware of their intentions to break the law.
  • You were wrongly accused of conspiracy by someone with wrong motives like revenge or jealousy, or you were misidentified as a conspiracy member. The defense will hold in court if your lawyer can unearth the actual name or identity of the offender.

Conspiracy Charges Under Federal Statutes

Conspiracy that happens within the state is charged under California laws. However, in conspiracies where some overt conducts happen outside the state borders, they are prosecuted under federal law. Offenses that lead to federal conspiracy counts are drug conspiracy.

Federal conspiracy happens when at least two parties agree to violate the federal narcotics statutes. The facts that the prosecutor should demonstrate are:

  • You arranged with another party or several persons to break federal drug statutes.
  • All conspiracy members were aware of the arrangement.

Actions that attract these charges are:

  • Production of controlled substances like cultivating, processing, or manufacturing.
  • Importing narcotics to the U.S.
  • Controlled drugs distribution.
  • Possession of controlled drugs with intent to distribute.

When the federal court sentences you for the crime, the punishment you will face varies depending on the form of the drug and the quantity. A conspiracy encompassing marijuana weighing 100kg attracts 60 months of prison incarceration. If the marijuana weighs 1000kg, a conviction will attract at most 40 years of federal prison incarceration. A conspiracy encompassing at least 100g of heroin attracts at least 60 months of imprisonment. A conspiracy involving 100kg of the same drug attracts a 40-year sentence upon conviction.

Conspiracy relating to opioids attracts 20 years of prison incarceration. If the offense happened and a party sustained bodily harm or death, you risk a penalty enhancement.

Even though federal prosecutors are aggressive in prosecuting conspiracy counts, you still have the chance to defeat the charges with the help of a competent lawyer. The defenses your attorney will use are the same as those used in California conspiracy cases.

Related Crimes

The offenses filed alongside or in place of conspiracy are:

  1. Gang Penalty Enhancement Statutes

Per PEN 186.22b, you will face gang enhancement when:

  • You commit or try to engage in a criminal violation in association with, for the benefit of, or under the instructions of a street gang.
  • And you participated in the offense to assist, aid, or promote gang activity.

You can only face the penalty enhancement if the prosecutor sentences you for the baseline offense. Unlike participation in a street gang, you do not need to be an active member of the gang to face sentence enhancement under PEN 186.22b.

The penalty enhancement you will face depends on the facts of the underlying felony. Committing a felony for the gain of a gang attracts a mandatory penalty increase of three years to life incarceration in addition to the penalties the court imposes for the baseline offense. You risk the penalty enhancement if you conspire with other individuals to engage in a felony to further or promote street gang activity.

  1. Aiding and Abetting

PEN 31 prohibits facilitating or encouraging others to break the law. If you aid or encourage others to violate the law, you risk the same punishment as the perpetrators. Also called accomplice liability, a PEN 31 violation is not an independent offense but a legal principle prescribed under the California Penal Code to allow for the prosecution of parties involved in an offense, even when they did not directly engage in its commission.

The offense is related to a conspiracy. You can be charged with accomplice liability when you aid a conspiracy member in perpetuating overt behavior or were part of the plot to break the law.

  1. Accessory After the Fact

California PC 32 prohibits people from harboring or assisting persons they know have committed an offense to protect them from arrest, trial, or sentencing. When proving the crime, the DA shows that:

  • A person who perpetuates a felony crime or faces a felony count.
  • You were aware the person was a felon under arrest, had formal charges, or has been convicted of a felony offense.
  • After the commission of the felony or charges, you harbored or supported the felon.
  • Your actions were aimed at protecting the felony from arrest, trial, or sentencing for their violation.

A PEN 32 violation is a wobbler, allowing the prosecutor to file it as a felony or misdemeanor. A misdemeanor conviction attracts at most twelve months of jail incarceration and $5,000 in court-imposed fines. A guilty verdict for a felony attracts no more than 36 months of imprisonment and, at most, $5,000 in court fines.

The offense is related to conspiracy when you harbor a conspiracy member from arrest after the conspiracy.

  1. PEN 664 – Attempt

California statutes criminalize any attempts by people to perpetuate crime. You are guilty of an attempt when you have specific intent to engage in a criminal violation and engage in one direct conduct towards the breach. Like conspiracy, you must engage in a conduct to advance the crime.

Find a Competent Criminal Defense Lawyer Near Me

Conspiracy is a separate offense from the baseline crime. You face the charges even when the actual crime did not materialize. Conspiracy attracts severe penalties, so you should hire a competent lawyer to prevent a conviction. At the Los Angeles Criminal Lawyer, we can guide you through the case and represent you for a favorable outcome. Call us today at 310-502-1314 to schedule an appointment.