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Health & Fitness

Partners in Crime- How Conspiracy Works


Partners in Crime- How Conspiracy Works

Conspiracy is a charge that has appeared in several of our firm’s cases lately so we thought we would take a closer look at the crime itself.  When most people think of conspiracy they think of people in a dark room plotting a serious crime.  But under Minnesota law it takes a lot less to get charged with conspiracy.  Under Minnesota Statute 609.175, conspiracy is defined as follows: “whoever conspires with another to commit a crime and in furtherance of the conspiracy one or more of the parties does some overt act in furtherance of such conspiracy”.

We highlighted overt act because for several conspiracy cases it boils down to whether there was a true overt act involved.  In MSJ partner Murad Mohammad’s most recent murder case, the State argued that a passing comment that was unable to be attributed to a specific a passenger about the deceased’s whereabouts was enough to constitute conspiracy between the two passengers.  The jury disagreed and found the defendant not guilty on that count, likely because a passing comment was not enough to constitute an overt act.  This reasoning is in line with the Minnesota Court of Appeals’ decision in State v. Stewart that confirmed simply talking about a crime does not constitute conspiracy under Minnesota law.

So what is enough to constitute an overt act for conspiracy?  The Minnesota Court of Appeals has provided some guidance and in State v. Stewart stated that the “slightest action” can be enough to constitute conspiracy.  One example that has surfaced in a few of Murad’s previous cases is providing transportation to the alleged suspect in the area of the crime.  Transportation can lead to conspiracy charges as the overt act and can also lead to a charge of aiding or abetting in certain cases.  This type of scenario really depends on proof of what the driver knew and why he or she was in the area.

It doesn’t take much to be charged with conspiracy.  Simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time with others charged with a crime can lead to conspiracy charges.  Friends or relatives of known gang members who themselves are not part of gangs can find themselves in this situation quite easily.  Conspiracy is not the stereotype that people traditionally think of where some kind of Oceans 11-type plot is hatched after much meticulous planning.  In our experience, conspiracies often come down to a very small action that may or may not rise to the level of an “overt act”.  So be aware of how little it takes to be labeled a partner in crime.

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