Look at the image above. What do you see?
If you said “a Christmas tree,” you’re right—even though there’s no actual tree in the picture. Just ornaments hanging from fishing line, arranged in a familiar triangular shape. Yet everyone who looks at it knows exactly what they’re seeing. That’s because we recognize the pattern, the context, the telltale details that reveal what’s really there, even when the central element is invisible.
The Invisible Agreement
A criminal conspiracy charge requires proof of an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime. But here’s the catch: prosecutors rarely have direct evidence of that agreement. There’s usually no signed contract, no recording of someone saying “let’s agree to commit this crime together,” no smoking gun email laying out the plan.
So how do they prove it exists?
The same way you know what the creator of this image was trying to convey by looking at the shape of everything around it.
Proving What You Can't See
Just as the ornaments’ arrangement, their specific character as Christmas decorations, and their tree-like formation all point to an invisible tree, prosecutors prove conspiracy through circumstantial evidence:
Coordinated actions by suspects
Timing and patterns of communication
Each person’s role in advancing a common goal
Knowledge of the overall scheme
Actions that only make sense if there was an agreement
Any one of these details might be entirely meaningless by itself: fishing line, ornaments, a conical shape…but these details, taken together, are more than the sum of their parts.
Why This Matters for Your Case
Understanding this framework is crucial if you’re facing conspiracy charges. The Commonwealth doesn’t need to prove you signed on the dotted line or shook hands on a criminal plan. They’ll try to show the “tree” by pointing to all the “ornaments“—the individual actions and circumstances that, taken together, suggest an agreement existed.
This is also why conspiracy charges can be particularly challenging to defend against. Once prosecutors establish that pattern, juries can “see the tree” even though the agreement itself remains invisible.
Facing conspiracy charges in Massachusetts? These cases require careful analysis of what the Commonwealth can actually prove versus what they’re asking the jury to infer. For a more detailed discussion of conspiracy law and defense strategies, see our comprehensive guide to conspiracy charges. Contact us to schedule a consultation and discuss your specific situation.
The Law Office of Matthew W. Peterson represents clients facing conspiracy and other criminal charges throughout the state of Massachusetts. We break down complex legal concepts into understandable terms and build strategic defenses tailored to each client’s case.
