A conspiracy may exist before a crime is actually attempted, whereas no attempt charge will succeed unless the requisite attempt is made. On another level, conspiracy requires less than attempt. However, attempt, like solicitation, can be committed by a single person. It differs from solicitation in that conspiracy requires an agreement between two or more persons, whereas solicitation can be committed by one person alone.Ĭonspiracy also resembles attempt. It is similar to solicitation in that both crimes are committed by manifesting an intent to engage in a criminal act. For example, one who conspires with another to commit Burglary and in fact commits the burglary can be charged with both conspiracy to commit burglary and burglary.Ĭonspiracy is an inchoate, or preparatory, crime. Federal statutes, and many state statutes, now require not only agreement and intent but also the commission of an Overt Act in furtherance of the agreement.Ĭonspiracy is a crime separate from the criminal act for which it is developed. Before its Codification in state and federal statutes, the crime of conspiracy was simply an agreement to engage in an unlawful act with the intent to carry out the act. An agreement between two or more persons to engage jointly in an unlawful or criminal act, or an act that is innocent in itself but becomes unlawful when done by the combination of actors.Ĭonspiracy is governed by statute in federal courts and most state courts.

Conspire mean