Also known as: unlawful act · lawful act by unlawful means · conspiracy
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A common-law doctrine defining the permissible objects of a conspiracy agreement. An agreement to pursue an objective the law deems contrary to the public welfare, or to pursue a lawful goal through prohibited methods, satisfies the objective element even if the goal itself is not criminal.
Ursula Ung, a city bus driver, deliberately slammed the brakes and jerked the bus forward in violation of a minor traffic ordinance after a passenger refused to move. The passenger fell, struck his head, and died. Prosecutors charged involuntary manslaughter on the theory that the death resulted from commission of an unlawful act.
Uri Underwood and Ugo Uberti agreed to stage a warehouse fire for an insurance payout. Ugo later told a third party that the fire would be set the following week. Prosecutors offered the statement against Uri under the coconspirator exception because it was made during and in furtherance of the conspiracy.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Unity Underhill agreed with one supplier to obtain and distribute counterfeit goods. She later learned the supplier had already agreed with two manufacturers to produce the items. Unity is guilty of conspiring with the manufacturers even though she never met them.
Uriel Urban and Ursula Ureña agreed that Uriel would stage a warehouse fire and Ursula would inflate the insurance claim so they could split the proceeds. Uriel then purchased extra flammable materials. The agreement plus the overt act completed the conspiracy.
Upland Industries and Upstream Petroleum agreed to rig bids on a public contract, a misdemeanor. One executive then submitted a false bid sheet. Because an overt act occurred, both companies can be convicted of conspiracy.
United Bank officers agreed to mislead regulators by backdating loan documents, an unlawful objective. The agreement itself supplied the actus reus. Prosecutors need not prove any further overt act to establish the conspiracy.
An agreement to pursue any objective the law regards as contrary to the public welfare qualifies, even if the objective is not itself a crime. An agreement to achieve a lawful goal through unlawful methods also qualifies.
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Under the traditional common-law definition the agreement itself constitutes the actus reus. No additional overt act need be alleged or proved.
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Many modern codes, including the Model Penal Code, require proof of an overt act for conspiracies other than first- or second-degree felonies. The common-law rule treats the agreement alone as sufficient.
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No. Common law requires that at least two participants genuinely share the criminal objective. A feigned agreement by one party prevents formation of the conspiracy.
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Yes. An unintentional killing that occurs during the commission of an unlawful act that does not qualify for felony murder constitutes involuntary manslaughter under the misdemeanor-manslaughter or unlawful-act theory.
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…March 1, 1974, a grand jury returned an indictment charging seven named individuals with various offenses, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and to obstruct justice. Although not designated in the indictment, the grand jury named the President among others as an unindicted co-conspirator. On April…