What is Criminal Conspiracy in Shreveport, Louisiana?
In Louisiana, it is itself a crime to conspire to commit a crime. See La. Rev. Stat., §14:26. To obtain a conviction for criminal conspiracy, the Louisiana government prosecutors must prove the following criminal elements:
An agreement or combination
By, between, and among two or more persons
For the specific purpose of committing any crime AND
One or more of the conspirators took an act in furtherance of the object of the agreement or combination
The essence of the crime is the agreement and at least one act in furtherance of the agreement. Thus, it is no defense to criminal conspiracy to argue or claim that the crime was not actually committed.
In terms of punishment, the potential jail terms and fines depend on the crime that was contemplated. Essentially, if convicted of criminal conspiracy, the defendant will be deemed to have committed the crime contemplated. Those convicted shall be fined and/or imprisoned in the same manner as for the offense contemplated but not more than one-half of the largest fine or one-half the longest term of imprisonment. If the criminal conspiracy involves a crime punishable by death or life imprisonment, then a minimum sentence of up to 30 years can be imposed.
As noted, criminal conspiracy is a separate and independent crime. Thus, if the crime is NOT committed, the defendants can still be convicted of the criminal conspiracy. Likewise, if the crime IS committed, the defendants can be convicted of both the conspiracy and the crime.
Some potential Louisiana criminal defenses to criminal conspiracy
The most common criminal defense in a Louisiana criminal conspiracy case is to demonstrate that there was no agreement or combination. This can be done in several ways, including showing that the alleged agreement was a mistake. From Louisiana civil law, this would entail showing that there was no "meeting of the minds" between the alleged co-conspirators. The mistake might mean several things, like the defendant's mistake in thinking that the parties agreed to something entirely different, that the parties actually disagreed about what they wanted to do, or that one party was actually refusing to agree and the other party mistakenly believed an agreement had been reached. Other "contract-like" defenses include:
The defendant was fraudulently induced into making the agreement.
Lack of capacity -- the defendant did not understand that he or she was making an agreement, was mentally incapacitated at the time, etc.
Lack of willing agreement -- the defendant did not willingly agree because of duress or coercion.
And more
Other defenses could be based on other elements, such as showing that there was no act in furtherance of the conspiracy or that the agreement was in furtherance of something legal. Lack of intent or knowledge could also be potential defenses.
Contact A Louisiana Criminal Defense Attorney Today
For more information, contact the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams today. We are top-rated, relentless, and aggressive Louisiana criminal defense lawyers. Complete our "Contact Us" page here. You may significantly benefit by having an attorney with legal competence and experience assist you with your Louisiana criminal case. We have offices in Shreveport and handle criminal defense cases throughout all of Louisiana.