WI · jury_instructions
Wis JI-Civil 2802
Conspiracy: Proof of Membership
Before you may find that a defendant, or any other person, was a member of a
conspiracy, you must be satisfied that the conspiracy was knowingly formed, and that the
defendant, or other person who is claimed to have been a member, knowingly participated in
the unlawful plan with the intent to advance or further some object or purpose of the
conspiracy.
"To act or participate knowingly" means to act or participate voluntarily and
intentionally and not because of mistake, accident, or other innocent reason. So, if a
defendant, or any other person, with understanding of the unlawful character of a plan,
intentionally encourages, advises, or assists, for the purpose of furthering the plan, he or she
thereby becomes a knowing participant – a conspirator.
An unlawful conspiracy may exist even though all of the conspirators do not meet or
agree simultaneously. Unlawful conspiracies may be formed without such simultaneous
action or agreement on the part of the conspirators.
One may become a member of a conspiracy without full knowledge of all the details
of the conspiracy. It is not necessary that each member of the conspiracy knows exactly what
part other members are playing. It is not necessary that each of the conspirators knows the
identity or role of the other participants in the conspiracy.
One who knowingly joins an existing conspiracy is charged with the same
responsibility as if he or she had been one of the originators or instigators of the conspiracy.
Such a person is deemed to have adopted and assumed responsibility for everything done and
said up to that time.
So, too, one who acquiesces, submits or tacitly assents to an illegal scheme is as much
a conspirator as one who creates or promotes it. Even the fact that it may have been forced
upon a person does not excuse such acquiescence.
In determining whether a defendant was a member of a conspiracy, you should not
consider what others may have said or done. That is to say, the membership of a defendant in
a conspiracy must be established by evidence in the case as to the person's own conduct, by
what the person knowingly said or did.
[Burden of Proof, Wis JI-Civil 205]
History
Wis JI-Civil 2802 (2003). ©2003, Regents, Univ. of Wis. Prepared by the Wisconsin Civil Jury Instructions Committee of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference with the University of Wisconsin Law School; posted by the Wisconsin State Law Library with the University's permission.
Provenance
- Source
- wilawlibrary.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-24
- Edition
- 2026-09-24
- Content hash
d686c4f2935908ab3b3ff4ca7804e7721aa19695e63c0e4d6767c0ca42e890c5
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