Criminal Law-Conspiracy
Prosecutors over the last several years have become more daring in bringing conspiracy charges against persons involved in criminal behavior. Conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to commit an unlawful act or to commit a lawful act, in an unlawful manner, and one or more persons commit an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. In a conspiracy case, the agreement itself is the actus reus and the intent to commit the unlawful act is the mens rea.
Suppose you and I agree to rob a bank. The agreement alone does not constitute a conspiracy. If, however, I go out and buy a handgun that is to be used in the robbery, at that point I have committed an overt act to pursue the conspiracy and at that point I may be guilty of the crime of conspiracy.
