A conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to accomplish an unlawful purpose.  Generally, to prove a conspiracy the government needs to prove that the alleged conspiracy existed, that the defendant knowingly became a member with the intent to further the conspiracy and that a coconspirator committed at last one act in furtherance of the conspiracy.  The agreement does not need to be in writing or even stated orally.  In fact, proof of the alleged agreement is often based on noting more than circumstantial evidence. 

Often, the conspiracy charge in a federal case to carries the most significant punishment.  For example, one common scenario in a drug conspiracy is for the government to charge individual defendants with distribution of a controlled substance based on small controlled buys.  The particular controlled buy may carry a punishment of a few years, or less.  The government also charges the defendants as a whole with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, adds the weights together, and alleges a mandatory minimum.  It only takes 50 grams of crack or 5 kilograms of powder cocaine to yield a 10 year mandatory minimum.  In this situation, defeating the conspiracy charge may prove to be the most significant aspect of the case.

If you have been accused of any federal conspiracy crime it is critical that you have skilled and experienced legal guidance as soon as possible.  Government law enforcement agencies like the DEA, ATF or FBI spend vast resources and sometimes many years to build a case against you.  Your chance to level the field is to retain an experienced, skilled federal criminal defense attorney.

If you face a federal criminal conspiracy case, contact federal conspiracy attorney Robert T. Ruth at 608-257-2540 for a free consultation.