Skilled Defense in Federal or New Jersey Conspiracy Cases
Conspiracy has always been a murky term in the criminal law, and in New Jersey it can be even more confusing. In the federal criminal justice system, a conspiracy charge related to drug trafficking or large-scale fraud operations can expose you to the risk of punishment every bit as severe as the main cocaine distribution or mortgage fraud count of an indictment.
In the New Jersey system, meanwhile, a conspiracy plea can be a convenient way to dispose of minor drug charges while keeping your driver's license intact. To learn what conspiracy means specifically in your case, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at the Law Offices of John F. Marshall in Shrewsbury, New Brunswick or four other locations around the state.
Just what does conspiracy mean?
A conspiracy is nothing more or less than an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime, together with an overt act by at least one person to advance the illegal purpose of the conspiracy. An actual crime need not have been committed, a conspirator need not know all the details of the illegal plan, and the overt act need not itself have been a crime. The agreement is the essence of the conspiracy, not the crime itself.
For example: if Jack, Mack and Zack agree to rob a liquor store on Friday night, and Zack delivers a disguise and a toy gun to Mack on Friday afternoon, and Jack drives Mack to the store at about the time the robbery was supposed to take place, all three can be charged with conspiracy, whether or not the store was robbed.
We can defend you against complex federal conspiracy charges
In real life, a federal conspiracy case might involve dozens or hundreds of people, with most unknown to one another, who are alleged to have participated in a complex drug trafficking or fraud scheme. Our understanding of federal fraud law can help you by attacking the evidence linking you to the agreement, by showing that the alleged overt acts were in fact innocent and unconnected to the conspiracy, or even by demonstrating your withdrawal from the conspiracy before the underlying crimes occurred — our analysis of the facts will identify the best approach.
In New Jersey, a conspiracy plea can save your driver's license
Although the state authorities can prosecute defendants on conspiracy charges just as well as the feds can, our practice often uses conspiracy law as a way to help our clients out of minor drug possession or distribution cases. Because a guilty plea on a drug charge carries a mandatory driver's license suspension with it, we have found that a plea to a conspiracy charge can help you keep your license even in cases where it would be very hard to beat the drug charge.
We can't guarantee that this approach will work in your case, but if you want to learn more about our experience with conspiracy pleas, our lawyers will be happy to discuss it with you. Whether you're facing minor drug charges or a major federal indictment, contact the Law Offices of John F. Marshall for dependable advice and skilled representation.
