My friends were involved in a Federal case, they have wiretaps of them talking about drugs and amounts needed. No one was ever caught with anything talked about on the wiretaps. How does conspiracy work, if no drugs were ever seized? Will they charge them both with the amount talked about on the phone?

The federal crime of conspiracy involves entering into an agreement to commit an unlawful act. In drug cases, it is not necessary that the drug transaction actually occur or even that any member of the conspiracy commit an act in furtherance of the agreement. Nor is it a defense that the object of the conspiracy -- distributing drugs -- never came to fruition, since the crime is the making of the unlawful agreement. It is not necessary that the specific drugs discussed on the telephone be seized or admitted into evidence. However, requests for federal wiretaps are granted only after an agent submits a sworn affidavit to a judge demonstrating probable cause to believe that evidence of a specific crime will come to light through the interception of phone calls. Typically, police or law enforcement agents would have recovered some drugs in the recent past, perhaps through a transaction with an undercover officer, controlled buys using informants, physical surveillance and/or a seizure following a traffic stop, to show the judge that not only is a particular phone being used to discuss drug deals, but that drug transactions actually have occurred. Federal sentencing guidelines for any particular co-conspirator are based on the amount of drugs possessed or distributed by all members of the conspiracy that are reasonably foreseeable to him or her, from the time he or she joined the conspiracy. The guidelines take into account all relevant conduct, not just that involved in the offense of conviction. Upon conviction, the probation department will prepare a report that includes its determination of the quantity of drugs that should be assessed against the person. The defense and prosecution can challenge the amount as too high or too low, and the sentencing judge will make the final decision. The standard of proof for determining drug quantities at a sentencing hearing is a lesser standard than that required to establish guilt (Preponderance of the evidence rather than proof beyond a reasonable doubt.) Federal law also makes it a crime to use the telephone to facilitate a drug transaction. This carries a lesser penalty than conspiracy, however each use of the phone is a separate crime. Federal conspiracy and wiretapping cases are very complex. Federal cases in general are quite different than state cases. Your friend should seek the services of a lawyer experienced in both federal criminal cases and wiretaps. If he or she cannot afford to retain counsel, the court will provide an experienced attorney at no expense.