Conspiracy - Next Generation Bar Exam
- How does the Model Penal Code's unilateral approach to conspiracy differ from the traditional bilateral approach?
- A person may be guilty of conspiracy by agreeing with someone who only feigns agreement, such as an undercover officer. Under the bilateral approach, at least two genuine parties to the agreement are required.
- What is the relationship between conspiracy and the completed target crime for conviction purposes?
- They do not merge; a defendant may be convicted of both. Conspiracy is a separate offense targeting the danger of group criminality.
- Under the Pinkerton rule, for which crimes is a conspirator liable?
- Crimes committed by coconspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy that were reasonably foreseeable. Liability attaches even if the conspirator did not participate in the specific crime.
- What does Wharton's rule provide?
- There is no conspiracy where the target crime by definition requires the agreement of two persons, unless more participate. Adultery and dueling are classic examples.
- Two people agree to rob a bank, and one buys ski masks for the job. Police arrest them before the robbery. Of what are they guilty?
- Conspiracy to commit robbery. The agreement plus the overt act of buying masks completes the conspiracy.
- What is the effect of factual impossibility on a conspiracy charge?
- It is not a defense. The agreement itself is the crime.
- Under the common law, what effect does a conspirator's effective withdrawal have?
- It cuts off liability for later crimes by coconspirators but not liability for the conspiracy itself. Withdrawal requires timely communication to all coconspirators.
- Under Gebardi v. United States, who cannot be guilty of conspiring to violate a statute?
- A person the statute was designed to protect. The legislative-exemption rule extends to agreements with the protected person.
- What is a hub-and-spoke conspiracy without a rim, and how is it treated?
- A central figure dealing separately with others who have no agreement among themselves; it is treated as separate conspiracies. The spokes must share a common agreement to form a single conspiracy.
- During a drug sale planned by two conspirators, one shoots the buyer in a dispute over price, while the other waits outside. Under Pinkerton, when is the other conspirator liable for the shooting?
- If the shooting was in furtherance of the conspiracy and reasonably foreseeable. Violence during an armed drug deal is often found foreseeable.
- What are the elements of conspiracy in most jurisdictions?
- An agreement between two or more persons, intent to agree and to achieve the objective, and an overt act. The common law did not require an overt act; most modern statutes do.