Review the example with Melissa and Matthew in Res Ipsa Loquitur Test. In this example, Melissa and Matthew agree to poison the neighbor’s dog because it barks every night. After deciding they will poison the dog, Melissa buys rat poison, and Matthew thereafter coats a filet mignon with it and throws it over the fence into the neighbor’s yard. In a jurisdiction that defines the criminal act element for conspiracy as an agreement between two or more to commit a criminal offense, Melissa and Matthew probably committed the conspiracy criminal act as soon as they agreed to poison the dog. Their agreement could be verbal and does not need to be formal or in writing. If Melissa and Matthew are in a jurisdiction that requires an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy, Melissa and Matthew probably have not committed the conspiracy criminal act until Melissa buys therat poison. Note that the purchase of the rat poison is not sufficient to constitute the criminal act element required for attempteddestruction of property or animal cruelty, as discussed in Res Ipsa Loquitur Test. However, it would likely be enough to support the conspiracy to commit destruction of property or animal cruelty.
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