Criminal Conspiracy: Position Paper and Proposals for Reform

At its spring 2015 meeting in Las Vegas, NACDL’s Board of Directors unanimously approved a resolution on criminal conspiracy law reform. The resolution is guided by a position paper drafted by NACDL’s Conspiracy Reform Subcommittee and adopts the recommendations therein. [Released April 2015]

Documents

Before approving the resolution, the Board received a presentation by Subcommittee Co-Chairs Steven Morrison and John Cline on the flawed nature of existing criminal conspiracy law and the critical need for reform. The presentation focused on how existing conspiracy law results in possible constitutional violations, evidentiary unreliability, and false convictions. The Co-Chairs also presented the recommendations contained in the position paper, which would address, among other things, the overt act requirement, jury instructions, Pinkerton liability, and more.