What is the main condition for conspiracy to exist under the Wharton Rule?

The main condition for conspiracy to exist under the Wharton Rule is that more parties must participate in the agreement than are necessary for the crime. This principle arises from the concern that certain crimes inherently require a collaboration of individuals; hence, it would be redundant to charge conspiracy when the number of participants equals the number required to commit the offense.

For example, if a crime is defined as being committed by two individuals, then a conspiracy charge cannot be applied if only those two are involved in the agreement. The Wharton Rule essentially protects against prosecuting individuals for both conspiracy and the substantive offense when the number of co-conspirators does not exceed the number required for the crime itself, allowing for fairness in prosecution and preventing redundancy in legal charges.

Understanding this rule is crucial to grasping how conspiracy can be distinguished from the actual crime, particularly in cases where specific crime elements are inherently tied to a defined number of collaborators. In contrast, the other options do not align with this legal principle regarding the number of participants needed for conspiracy to exist under the Wharton Rule.