Griffin v. State
Supreme Court of Arkansas
455 S.W.2d 882 (Ark. 1970)
Relevant factsFree
After Griffin's (defendant) car overturned and police responded to the scene, a crowd that had gathered, including Griffin, suddenly began yelling at and violently attacking the responding officers, severely beating them; Griffin was convicted of conspiracy to commit the beatings despite no proof of an actual prior meeting or explicit agreement among the crowd members, and he appealed.
IssueFree
Whether the agreement element of a criminal conspiracy charge must be proven by direct evidence of an actual meeting between the alleged conspirators, or may instead be inferred from circumstantial evidence.