Drug Offenses- Conspiracy
Very rarely is it the case that a person grows, cultivates, or manufactures his or her own illegal drugs and then sells them to consumers on the streets. Thus, it is almost always the case that two or more people have to work together to produce and distribute illegal drugs. In legal terms, this means that where a drug offense is involved, there is almost always at least some evidence of a conspiracy. “Conspiracy” to commit an offense in Tennessee basically means that two or more people reach an understanding that the offense will be committed. For example, if the drug manufacturer sells it to the drug dealer knowing that the dealer is selling it on the street, then the drug manufacturer could be charged with conspiracy for supplying the dealer. In the same way, where there are large-scale drug rings that involve multiple people who play small roles in making sure the drugs get where they need to go, the person who is responsible for transporting the drugs from Florida to Tennessee is just as responsible for conspiracy as the guy who lets the truck park in his warehouse or the guy who actually sells the drugs to the consumer.
Since conspiracy has such a loose definition, it is often charged against anyone who plays even the tiniest of roles in a drug operation as long as the state can show some form of agreement existing among the parties. In the case of State v. Rogers, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals recently ruled that the state does not even have to show that a formal or official agreement even existed; rather, conspiracy can be proved by the amount, time, and frequency of phone calls made to other members of the alleged conspiracy as well as inferences made from testimony concerning communications between members of the conspiracy who did not even know the full-scale operation even existed.
Conspiracy is punished one felony classification lower than the actual offense which was conspired in Tennessee, meaning drug-related conspiracy charges can carry a lengthy prison sentence if the defendant is convicted. Such defendants need an expert criminal defense attorney who can demonstrate their innocence by showing no conspiracy ever existed and pointing out deficiencies in the state’s evidence. The ability to do this could enable the defendant to avoid a lengthy prison sentence.
Source: (Statev. Rogers, 35 TAM 41-20, 8/19/10, Nashville, Witt, 10 pages.)
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