Conspiracy

Conspiracy is the bread and butter allegation of any United States Attorney’s Office when charging two or more people with a crime that they may have committed together. In charging a conspiracy, the United States Attorney’s Office has more leverage against a defendant in that certain enhancements apply to these allegations but not to individual criminal allegations. Additionally, the filing of these charges casts a wider net, thereby supplying the United States Attorney’s Office with the ability to negotiate with one or more individual defendants to pressure them to testify against their coconspirators. This pressure often works as it generally allows for a sentencing reduction for the cooperating defendant while forcing the coconspirators to plea in order to avoid the possibility of a much harsher sentence after a near certain trial loss. Not only can this coconspirator testimony be used as trial, the US Attorney can use the information from the testimony during certain pre-trial motions or sentencing hearings to push for an enhancement to the charge. Overall, if you have been charged in a Federal conspiracy case, one of the most important tasks at hand is for you to hire a qualified Federal criminal lawyer.

What Is Conspiracy?

In generic terms a conspiracy is when two or more persons, in some way or manner, come to a mutual understanding to try to accomplish a common and unlawful plan as charged in an indictment related to another charge and that all conspirators knowing the unlawful purpose of the plan, willfully joined in. Stated otherwise, there’s an agreement by two or more people to do something illegal and they agree knowing the unlawful purpose of the agreement. Generally, this charge is tacked onto a substantive charge of possession with the intent to distribute drugs, arms trafficking, mail or wire fraud, or a child pornography. Unfortunately, due to several moving parts in a conspiracy charge, it’s very difficult for an attorney to defend an individual indicted on conspiracy charges. Generally, if it can be shown that an individual was unknowingly involved in a criminal scheme, a case can be made for lack of a criminal mental state. Without a knowing participation, this charge cannot stick. One other option is that if a person was involved in a conspiracy, they might not have agreed to involve themselves in the specific conspiracy charged. In other words, while they may have acted illegally, they just did not act illegally in the fashion alleged. On the flip side of the coin, if an individual has a case where his Federal criminal lawyer has no legitimate chance at trial, the ability to testify against coconspirators could be a blessing in disguise to significantly lessen a potential sentence.

How Can We Help?

The lawyers at The Mayberry Law Firm have handled a conspiracy charge in nearly every Federal case we’ve had the privilege of handling. Because of this experience each attorney in our firm has had the opportunity to research every enhancement the United States Attorney’s Office will try to use against you. We know what they’ll do before they do it and in calling on our experience we know how to combat their attempts all while looking for mitigators to reduce any potential sentence you may receive. Our experience in Federal Court has taught us what battles to fight and what battles to concede while considering every scenario and how it impacts our client’s Federal case. Because the Federal Sentencing Guidelines are so delicate it is imperative to hire an attorney not only experienced in a criminal court, but a Federal criminal court. We leave no stone unturned. If we can try your case to acquittal we will recommend that you allow us to do so. If your case is more appropriate for sentence mitigation we will be candid with you across the board. One thing is certain. Our attorneys will thoroughly and zealously represent your interest every step of the way. Contact the attorneys at The Mayberry Law Firm at 813-444-7435 and at 727-771-3847.