Opinion ID: 2002580
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Conspiracy Generally

Text: The common law of conspiracy was cogently summarized by Justice Powell in Iannelli v. United States, 420 U.S. 770, 95 S.Ct. 1284, 43 L.Ed.2d 616 (1975), as follows: Conspiracy is an inchoate offense, the essence of which is an agreement to commit an unlawful act. Unlike some crimes that arise in a single transaction, the conspiracy to commit an offense and the subsequent commission of that crime do not merge into a single punishable act. Thus, it is well recognized that in most cases separate sentences can be imposed for the conspiracy to do an act and for the subsequent accomplishment of that end. Indeed, the Court has even held that the conspiracy can be punished even more harshly than the accomplishment of its purpose. The consistent rationale of this long line of decisions rests on the very nature of the crime of conspiracy. This Court repeatedly has recognized that a conspiracy poses distinct dangers quite apart from those of the substantive offense. This settled principle derives from the reason of things in dealing with socially reprehensible conduct: collective criminal agreement  partnership in crime  presents a greater potential threat to the public than individual delicts. Concerted action both increases the likelihood that the criminal object will be successfully attained and decreases the probability that the individuals involved will depart from their path of criminality. Group association for criminal purposes often, if not normally, makes possible the attainment of ends more complex than those which one criminal would accomplish. Nor is the danger of a conspiratorial group limited to the particular end toward which it has embarked. Combination in crime makes more likely the commission of crimes unrelated to the original purpose for which the group was formed. In sum, the danger which a conspiracy generates is not confined to the substantive offense which is the immediate aim of the enterprise. As Mr. Justice Jackson, no friend of the law of conspiracy, observed: The basic rationale of the law of conspiracy is that a conspiracy may be an evil in itself, independently of any other evil it seeks to accomplish. 420 U.S. at 777-79, 95 S.Ct. at 1290, 43 L.Ed.2d at 622-24 (citations and footnotes omitted); see generally Marcus, Prosecution and Defense of Criminal Conspiracy Cases, §§ 1.01-1.06 (1989 & 1989 Supp.) (summarizing the development of conspiracy law from early English cases forward); Pollack, Common Law Conspiracy, 35 Geo.L.Rev. 328, 328-52 (1947) (same); Sayre, Criminal Conspiracy, 35 Harv.L.Rev. 393, 393-427 (1922) (same). The common law of criminal conspiracy has been codified in Pennsylvania at 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 903. A perusal of that statute plainly reveals that agreement of two or more persons to act in concert for a criminal purpose remains the evil against which the criminal conspiracy statute is directed. See Commonwealth v. Derr, 501 Pa. 446, 462 A.2d 208 (1983); 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 903(a). While the Commonwealth is not required to prove a written or express agreement, a tacit agreement must be established by reasonable inferences arising from the facts and circumstances and not by mere suspicion or conjecture. See Commonwealth v. Monroe, 356 Pa.Super 109, 514 A.2d 167 (1986); Commonwealth v. Lore, 338 Pa.Super 42, 487 A.2d 841 (1984).