A conspiracy charge is a criminal offense that occurs when two or more people agree to commit a crime and take some action toward carrying out the plan. The purpose of the agreement does not matter, it could be to rob a bank, kill someone, or cause general mayhem. Conspiracy charges can come in felony or misdemeanor forms, and people charged with conspiracies could potentially be subject to both a conspiracy charge and a charge of the underlying crime at issue. The agreement to commit a crime is often referred to as the essential component of a conspiracy charge, and it does not have to be in writing or even spoken out loud. To be considered a conspiracy, there must be two elements present: an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime and an overt act in furtherance of the crime.

The crime of conspiracy was created to address the inherent dangers posed to society when people come together and join forces to commit criminal acts. The benefit of this is that all reasonably foreseeable criminal acts committed by any of the co-conspirators, and reasonably related to the conspiracy, can be introduced at trial. This is true even though those on trial may not have directly participated in the acts. In addition, statements made by co-conspirators during and in furtherance of a conspiracy are not considered to be hearsay, so can be used at trial against other members of the conspiracy.

If you are facing conspiracy charges, it is crucial that you get yourself an experienced lawyer before going into court or being interrogated by law enforcement officials about your involvement in any alleged conspiracies. There are three main legal defenses that you can raise against a conspiracy charge: there was no agreement, there was no overt act in furtherance of the crime, or you withdrew from the conspiracy before any overt act was committed.