Colorado Court of Appeals People v. Sampson 10CA2544

Decision here.

   Sampson conspired with his roommates (who were cashiers at a grocery store) to steal groceries by going through their checkout aisle without paying.  He took about $2000 worth of groceries this way, and was eventually convicted of theft and conspiracy to commit theft.  He appealed his conviction, arguing that since the agreement with his roommates didn't specifically address the value of the items, the elements of conspiracy to commit theft ($1000-$20000) hadn't been met.

   This, of course, is ridiculous.  One doesn't have to be conscious of the actual value of an item in order to commit the crime of theft, so one doesn't have to agree on the value of the item to commit the crime of conspiracy to commit theft.  Conviction affirmed.