Legal Definitions - common plan

A common plan refers to an overarching scheme, strategy, or objective that connects a series of individual actions or events. It suggests that various acts, even if performed by different people or at different times, are not random or isolated but are instead part of a larger, coordinated effort designed to achieve a specific outcome. This concept is often used in legal contexts to establish a link between seemingly separate acts, demonstrating a broader intent, conspiracy, or a pattern of conduct.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of a common plan:

• Financial Embezzlement Scheme: Imagine a scenario where a company's chief financial officer (CFO), working with an external vendor, devises a scheme to embezzle funds. Over several years, the CFO approves inflated invoices from the vendor for services never rendered. The vendor then kicks back a portion of the payment to the CFO. The CFO uses different accounts and methods to obscure the transactions each time, and the vendor changes the names on invoices periodically. While each fraudulent invoice and payment might appear as a separate event, they are all part of a single, overarching common plan to defraud the company.

  Explanation: The individual acts of approving fake invoices, making payments, and receiving kickbacks, despite their variations over time, are not isolated incidents. They are all interconnected by the shared objective and coordinated strategy between the CFO and the vendor to systematically steal money from the company. This demonstrates a clear common plan.

• Serial Vandalism: Consider a group of individuals who decide to deface public property in a city. Over several weeks, they spray paint graffiti on different buildings, monuments, and public transportation vehicles. Each act of vandalism occurs at a different location, at different times, and sometimes involves different members of the group, but they consistently use a specific tag or symbol and target similar types of surfaces. The police eventually apprehend them and link the various incidents.

  Explanation: Although each act of vandalism is a distinct event, the consistent use of a specific tag, the targeting of similar public properties, and the involvement of the same group of individuals demonstrate a common plan to systematically deface public spaces. The individual acts are unified by this shared objective and method.

• Drug Trafficking Operation: A criminal organization establishes a network to import and distribute illegal drugs. One group of individuals handles the procurement of drugs from an international source, another group manages their transportation across borders, a third group is responsible for warehousing and packaging, and a fourth group distributes the drugs to street-level dealers in various cities. Each group performs its specialized task, often unaware of the full scope of the others' activities, but all actions are directed towards the ultimate goal of large-scale drug distribution.

  Explanation: The numerous distinct activities—procurement, transportation, warehousing, and distribution—performed by different individuals or subgroups, are all integral components of a single, overarching common plan to traffic drugs. Each step, though separate, is essential to and directly contributes to the larger criminal enterprise.