South Florida Criminal Defense Attorney Explains Conspiracy Charges

By : | Category : Criminal Defense | Comments Off on South Florida Criminal Defense Attorney Explains Conspiracy Charges

15th Aug 2017

A South Florida criminal defense attorney is often retained when defendants are facing charges for conspiracy.   These can be based on a conspiracy to commit murder, manufacture drugs or any other host of crimes.   If you are facing criminal conspiracy charges, it is important that you contact a South Florida criminal defense attorney and understand the following information:

Definition of a Conspiracy

A criminal conspiracy is an agreement to commit a criminal act or series of acts.   Florida law defines the term “conspires” as agreeing, conspiring, combining or confederating with another person to commit an offense.   Criminal conspiracy is distinct from crimes based on an attempt or solicitation of a crime.

Scope of Conspiracy

A conspiracy may be an agreement to commit more than one crime.   However, it is charged as one offense even if multiple violations of the same law are involved.   The legal question is what the agreement is for.   If there is one agreement to take part in multiple types of criminal action, the conspiracy comprises only one offense.

Ending a Conspiracy 

A conspiracy continues to stay in place until there is some affirmative act that stops the conspiracy or the conspiracy is completed.

Defenses to Conspiracy 

A criminal defense attorney can evaluate the circumstances surrounding conspiracy charges to evaluate the possible defenses that may exist.   One defense that may apply is the voluntary abandonment defense in which the defendant decides he or she does not want to be part of the conspiracy.   For this defense to apply, the defendant must communicate his or her desire to leave the conspiracy in enough time that the co-conspirators can also abandon the conspiracy.