Fill and Sign the Jury Instruction Controlled Substances Conspiracy Form

75 Controlled Substances (Conspiracy) 21 USC § 846, 955c and/or 963 Title 21, United States Code, Section[s] [846] [955c] [963] make it a separate Federal crime or offense for anyone to conspire or agree with someone else to do something which, if actually carried out, would be a violation of [Section 841(a)(1)] [Section 952(a)]. [Section 841(a)(1) makes it a crime for anyone to knowingly possess with intent to distribute it.] [Section 952(a) makes it a crime for anyone to knowingly import into the United States from some place outside the United States.] So, under the law, a "conspiracy" is an agreement or a kind of " partnership in criminal purposes" in which each member becomes the agent or partner of every other member. In order t o establish a conspiracy offense it is not necessary for the Government to prove that all of the people named in the indictment w ere members of the scheme, or that those who were members had entered into any formal type of agreement. Also, because the essence of a conspiracy offense is the making of the scheme itself, it is not necessary for the Government to prove that the conspirators actually succeeded in accomplishing their unlawful plan. What the evidence in the case must show beyond a reasonable doubt is: First: That two or more persons in some way or manner, came to a mutual understanding to try to accomplish a common and unlawful plan, as charged in the indictment; and Second: That the Defendant, knowing the unlawful purpose of the plan, willfully joined in it. A person may become a member of a conspiracy without full knowledge of all of the details of the unlawful scheme or the names and identities of all of the other alleged conspirators. So, if a Defendant has a general understanding of the unlawful purpose of the plan and knowingly and willfully joins in that plan on one occasion, that is sufficient to convict that Defendant for conspiracy even though the Defendant did not participate before and even though the Defendant played only a minor part. Of course, mere presence at the scene of a transaction or event, or the mere fact that certain persons may have associated with each other, and may have assembled together and discussed common aims and interests, does not necessarily establish proof of a conspiracy. Also, a person who has no knowledge of a conspiracy, but who happens to act in a way which advances some purpose of one, does not thereby become a conspirator. ANNOTATIONS AND COMMENTS 21 USC § 84 6 provides: Any person who attempts or conspires to commit any offense defined in this subchapter [Sections 801 through 904] [shall be guilty of an offense against the United States].