Concepts of Criminal Law Class
Week 4 Essay
For this week’s assignment, you will
write a 250-300 word minimum essay about conspiracy. Be sure to address all
prompts and cite your sources in APA format. This is worth 100 points, so be
thorough and give your best effort.
Conspiracy mens rea wasn’t defined
clearly at common law, and most modern legislatures haven’t made it any
clearer. This leaves the courts to define it. The traditional definition of the
inchoate crime of conspiracy includes the attendant circumstance element that
agreements involve two or more parties agreeing or combining to commit a crime.
Most modern statutes have replaced this traditional definition with a
unilateral approach that doesn’t require that all conspirators agree–or even know–the
other conspirators.
Review
the case United States v. Garcia, (9th Cir. 1998), pages 281-283, and answer
the following questions:
What acts did Garcia do that amounted
to a conspiracy?
What was the government’s evidence that
supports the conspiracy?
What reasons did the Court give to
reject the government’s arguments and order that Garcia should go free?
