Conspiracy to Sell Drugs

What is Conspiracy?

Technically, under California law, conspiracy is defined under Penal Code 182 PC as an agreement between two or more people to commit a criminal act and an act taken by one or more parties of a conspiracy to keep one or more of the criminal objectives of the conspiracy going. If we break that definition down, conspiracy involves three main elements:

• If two or more people conspire to commit any crime
• And one or more members of the conspiracy act toward committing that crime.
• If two or more people actually commit a crime

For a charge of conspiracy to sell drugs, the crime could be as simple as you and a friend having a conversation in which you plan to sell illegal drugs. While a simple conversation between two people may seem like a bad foundation for a conspiracy charge, that is what the law says.

How Does the Court Prove Conspiracy?

In a conspiracy case, the court has to prove:

• Specific intent An agreement with one or more individuals to engage in a specific crime.
• Overt act When any member of the conspiracy performs an act aimed at achieving the goal of the crime intended.

For example: You and your friend Ron need some cash. Ron has just had some wisdom teeth removed and has an unused prescription for Vicodin. You suggest selling the Vicodin at the park and pocketing the cash. Ron agrees that this is a good idea and asks you to help him. The agreement to sell the drugs is the SPECIFIC INTENT. Next, you drive Ron to the pharmacy where he fills the prescription. Both you driving him to the pharmacy and his filling the prescription are OVERT ACTS.

REMEMBER: you don’t actually need to attempt to sell the drugs to be guilty of conspiracy to sell drugs.

Defenses Against Conspiracy Charges in Orange County

Because a crime of conspiracy doesn’t involve actually committing a crime itself, a seasoned defense attorney has many ways to challenge the charge.

• No agreement was made – Just because a crime was discussed by two or more people, that doesn’t mean an agreement was made with the intent of carrying out the crime. Likewise, just because two or more people commit a crime, it doesn’t mean that they agreed to commit the crime beforehand.
• No overt act was committed – Maybe you and a friend had planned to sell illegal drugs, but you never went beyond the planning stage and never committed acts toward carrying out the crime.
• Withdrawal from conspiracy agreement – If one of the conspiratorial parties withdraws from the agreement to commit the planned crime before any overt act is committed, they can’t be convicted of conspiracy.
• Mistake of law – In a charge of conspiracy, a conspirator must agree to commit a crime. If the conspirator does not know what they are conspiring to do is a crime, they are not guilty of conspiracy.
• False accusation – The prosecution can’t prove that you agreed to commit and intended to commit the crime.

As you can see, charges of conspiracy to sell drugs lie in murky legal waters. This is why it is so important to be represented by an experienced defense team should you find yourself accused of such a crime. The Law Offices of David A. Stein have the experience under our belt and will vigorously fight on your behalf. Call us today, toll free, at (949) 445-0040 for a free consultation.