Colorado Criminal Defense
Conspiracy in its simplest terms means: When two or more people agree to commit an illegal act, they are guilty of conspiracy. Therefore, the prosecution, whether state or federal, only needs to show that two or more people were involved and they agreed to commit an illegal act. The agreement does not have to be an express agreement. Simply acting in a manner to accomplish the same goal is sufficient to establish an agreement.
All parties to a conspiracy will be punished for the actions of one member of the conspiracy. A common example of this is when two people decide to rob a bank. One person is the getaway driver and the other goes into the bank and steals the money. While in the process of making the teller hand over the money, the robber in the bank shoots and kills the teller. The getaway driver then is just as guilty of felony murder as the robber in the bank who shot the teller. He is also subject to the same punishment. That is, both will face the death penalty in either state or federal court.
Attempts are charged and punished as if the crime was actually completed.
Federal Conspiracy Law
Title 18 U.S.C. sec. 371
Class E felony
Possible sentence: Not more than 5 years
A person can be charged with Conspiracy if any of the following applies:
If two or more persons conspire to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons does any act to effect the object of the conspiracy.
Colorado Conspiracy Law
C.R.S. 18-2-201
Class 6 felony
Possible sentence: 1 - 1.5 years in prison with a mandatory parole term of 1 year following release.
A person can be charged with Conspiracy if any of the following applies:
1) With the intent to promote or facilitate the commission of a crime, he/she agrees with another person or persons that they, or one or more of them, will engage in conduct which constitutes a crime or an attempt to commit a crime, or he/she agrees to aid the other person or persons in the planning or commission of a crime or of an attempt to commit such crime.
NOTE: No person may be convicted of a conspiracy to commit a crime, unless an overt act in pursuance of that conspiracy is proved to have been done by him/her or by a person with whom he/she conspired.
NOTE: If a person knows that one with whom he/she conspires to commit a crime has conspired with another person or person to commit the same crime, he/she is guilty of conspiring to commit a crime with the other person or persons, whether or not he knows their identity.
Colorado Criminal Attempt Law
C.R.S. 18-2-101
A person can be charged with Criminal Attempt if acting with the kind of culpability otherwise required for commission of an offense, he/she engages in conduct constituting a substantial step toward the commission of the offense. A substantial step is any conduct, whether act, omission, or possession, which is strongly corroborative of the firmness of the actor's purpose to complete the commission of the offense.
NOTE: Factual or legal impossibility of committing the offense is NOT a defense if the offense could have been committed had the attendant circumstances been as the actor believed them to be, nor is it a defense that the crime attempted was actually perpetrated by the accused.
The penalties for Attempt are as follows:
Attempt to commit a Class 1 felony is a Class 2 felony - possible sentence: 8 -24 years in prison with a mandatory parole term of 5 years following release.
Attempt to commit a Class 2 felony is a Class 3 felony - possible sentence: 4 - 12 years in prison with a mandatory parole term of 5 years following release.
Attempt to commit a Class 3 felony is a Class 4 felony - possible sentence: 2 - 6 years in prison with a mandatory parole term of 3 years following release.
Attempt to commit a Class 4 felony is a Class 5 felony - possible sentence: 1 - 3 years in prison with a mandatory parole term of 2 years following release.
Attempt to commit a Class 5 or Class 6 felony is a Class 6 felony - possible sentence: 1 - 1.5 years in prison with a mandatory parole term of 1 year following release.
