Also known as: aperta facta · overt act · manifest act
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A physical act performed in furtherance of a criminal agreement or attempt that goes beyond mere preparation.
Caleb and Omar agreed that Omar would stage a fire at his warehouse so Caleb could inflate the insurance claim. Omar then purchased extra flammable materials and rearranged stock in one corner to prepare the scene. Those steps supplied the required overt act even though the staged fire never occurred.
Henry and Laura agreed to delete failure entries from a database so substandard aircraft panels could ship. Henry created an altered report and saved it to a hidden server directory. That internal creation and saving constituted the overt act needed for conspiracy liability under the applicable statute.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Carla filled a syringe with a massive sedative dose intending to kill Victor. She walked to his bedside and inserted the loaded syringe into his IV port before pulling it back. Inserting the syringe crossed the line into an overt act that came dangerously close to completion.
Malik cut the brake lines on Jenna's car intending that she die in a crash. He completed the cutting before later restoring the brakes. The cutting itself formed the overt act that rendered later withdrawal irrelevant to attempt liability.
Dorothy proposed altering disbursement sheets to divert client funds and Frances nodded, agreed to prepare revised sheets, and shook hands. The handshake and express assent completed the conspiracy at common law.
Luis attached a timed detonator to a gas line, armed it, and started the countdown intending to destroy part of the plant. He was later caught while trying to disconnect the wire. Arming and starting the timer supplied the overt act that made withdrawal unavailable as a defense.
Yes. Under traditional common law the agreement itself supplies the actus reus, so the prosecution need not prove any additional overt act.
Supporting sources
For any conspiracy other than a first- or second-degree felony the prosecution must allege and prove an overt act by the defendant or a co-conspirator.
Supporting sources
No. Once the defendant has crossed from preparation into an overt act with the required intent, traditional common-law rules treat abandonment as no defense to attempt or conspiracy.
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The act must come dangerously close to completing the target offense or must be performed in direct furtherance of the conspiratorial objective, leaving only minor steps undone.
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…this charge and refusal to charge the question is raised, whether religious belief can be accepted as a justification of an overt act made criminal by the law of the land. The inquiry is not as to the power of Congress to prescribe criminal laws for the Territories, but as to the guilt of one who knowingly violates a law…