U.S. v. Valigura, 54 M.J. 187

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Crimes: Article 81 - Conspiracy Pre-2019 offenses

1. if one person is only feigning a criminal purpose and does not intend to achieve the purported purpose, under the traditional “bilateral” theory the crime of conspiracy has not been committed; for example, the crime of conspiracy is not committed by either an undercover agent, who lacks mens rea, or an appellant who entered an agreement to sell contraband to the undercover agent even though that appellant clearly possessed a purpose to enter into an agreement to sell contraband; there can be no conspiracy when a supposed participant merely feigns acquiescence with another’s criminal purpose in order to secure his detection and apprehension by proper authorities
2. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces rejects the unilateral theory of conspiracy where someone may be punished as a conspirator who believes he or she has agreed with another to commit a crime, even though the other person had no purpose to commit that crime