Required

Virginia Drug Conspiracy Lawyer

Conspiracy charges are taken very seriously in Virginia. They are dangerous for people to be charged with because the government needs only to prove an agreement between two or more guilty minds to commit a future crime has occurred. This typically is viewed as a relatively low standard of proof that is required to convict somebody.

The government needs to prove all evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, but the only evidence that they need to prove in a conspiracy case is the agreement to commit a crime. Most people do not understand that the act of agreeing to complete a crime can land them in serious hot water, even if they never actually followed through with it. If you are facing charges, a Virginia drug conspiracy attorney will be essential for help. A skilled drug attorney will understand best how to build a defense for your conspiracy case as soon as possible.

Defining Conspiracy in Virginia

A conspiracy is an event that is criminal in nature where two or more people make an agreement or a pact to commit a future crime. Conspiracy to commit a crime, such as drug distribution, does not require the completion or an attempted completion of that crime. If a person goes to extraordinary steps of making an agreement with another person to commit a crime of drug distribution and at some point falls through on that promise to prepare for the commission of that crime, those people are all collectively guilty of conspiracy to commit a drug crime.

Someone can be charged with conspiracy as well as separate underlying offenses. They cover the same conduct. The elements for conspiracy are two or more people agreeing to commit a crime and a person can be found guilty of that crime of conspiracy even if the crime they agreed to commit is never attempted or completed. Therefore, a person can and often is charged with both the underlying conspiracy as well as the charge of distribution itself. If someone is facing multiple charges, a Virginia drug conspiracy attorney can work to potentially mitigate

Potential Penalties

In Virginia, the possible penalties for a drug distribution are severe making it imperative that Virginia drug conspiracy attorney is consulted. The penalties for a drug conspiracy are the same penalties that a person would face if they completed the crime to which they agreed to commit with their co-conspirators. In other words, if a person agrees or conspires to commit a drug-related offense in Virginia, even if they never actually follow through and commit the crime itself, their punishment will be the same as if they had gone through with it and completed the crime.

Evidence

Conspiracies generally need some evidence that an agreement was made. Most of the time individuals engaged in a drug trade are not so careless to overtly say in an email or text message that they are selling drugs. A lot of times courts rely on interpreting the actions of those to verify the government’s claims that they are in fact guilty of the conspiracy that they have alleged.

If there is evidence by way of testimony from a possible co-conspirator and an act done in furtherance of that alleged conspiracy, even if that act is so small that most individuals might not even associate with the commission of a drug crime, most courts will find that it is sufficient evidence to substantiate the claim of a drug conspiracy. A drug conspiracy lawyer in Virginia can help to gather evidence and build a robust defense.

Practice Areas