For most criminal charges, you are being charged with a crime that you have already committed. Someone charged with embezzlement, for example, has already stolen money from a business. Someone charged with drug distribution has already sold illegal substances to a third party.
But with conspiracy charges, things can be a bit different. The conspiracy does not have to be successful in order for you to be arrested. Technically, you may argue that you have not even broken the law.
2 key elements
For conspiracy charges, there are two main things to consider. The first is that multiple people are involved in the conspiracy. You have to work with at least one other person, and the two of you have to discuss an illegal activity, such as embezzlement or drug trafficking.
Next, you have to take one step toward completing that conspiracy. This step, in and of itself, may not be illegal, but it shows that you were moving forward with the conspiracy as planned.
For example, maybe you and another person designed a computer program to embezzle money from the company, and you installed it on your work computer. It has not actually started stealing money, but you could still face conspiracy charges.
Or maybe the two of you conspired to transport drugs to another state, and you rented a van that you were going to use. Renting a van is not illegal, but that could still satisfy conspiracy requirements, and you could be arrested.
Your defense options
Conspiracy charges are very serious, and you can see how they are a bit more complicated, which is why it is so important to understand the legal defense options you have at your disposal.