6th Cir. Pattern Crim. Jury Instr. 3.08

(1) The indictment charges that the defendants were all members of one single conspiracy to commit the crime of _______.

(2) Some of the defendants have argued that there were really two separate conspiracies--one between _______ to commit the crime of _______; and another one between _______ to commit the crime of _______.

(3) To convict any one of the defendants of the conspiracy charge, the government must convince you beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was a member of the conspiracy charged in the indictment. If the government fails to prove this, then you must find that defendant not guilty of the conspiracy charge, even if you find that he was a member of some other conspiracy. Proof that a defendant was a member of some other conspiracy is not enough to convict.

(4) But proof that a defendant was a member of some other conspiracy would not prevent you from returning a guilty verdict, if the government also proved that he was a member of the conspiracy charged in the indictment.

Use Note

This instruction should be used when there is some evidence that multiple conspiracies may have existed, and a finding that multiple conspiracies existed would constitute a material variance from the indictment. It should be followed by Instruction 3.09, which explains the factors the jury should consider in determining whether a single or multiple conspiracies existed.

The possible existence of separate conspiracies may require the drafting of special instructions limiting the jury's consideration of statements made by co-conspirators to members of a particular conspiracy.