Palmer v. Colorado

964 P.2d 524 (1998)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D was convicted of multiple felonies for having fired gunshots at several victims. D was sentenced for a substantial period of time, and the court imposed a concurrent term for the single count of conspiracy to commit reckless manslaughter that is at issue here. On appeal, D argued that conspiracy to commit reckless manslaughter is not a legally cognizable crime in Colorado. D claimed that conspiracy is a crime requiring a specific intent to achieve the forbidden result and that reckless manslaughter is a crime requiring recklessness with respect to the result. P concluded that it is logically impossible to specifically intend that an unintended death occur. The court of appeals determined that conspiracy does not require that the conspirator intend to cause a particular result but merely requires that the conspirator know that he or she and another are engaging in criminal conduct. Because it is possible to know that an agreement to engage in conduct creates a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death and to disregard that risk, the court of appeals concluded that conspiracy to commit reckless manslaughter is a legally cognizable crime. D appealed.