Hub-and-spoke conspiracy involving other actors who are cooperating with the hub in carrying out the scheme. It is controversial, particularly in the antitrust cases, how much knowledge spoke actors must have of the conduct of other spoke actors—which is to say how much of a "rim" must be put around the "wheel" of the hub-and-spoke conspiracy for it to be a single conspiracy rather than many separate "vertical" conspiracies. There is a controversy and some uncertainty over the legal status of the "rimless" conspiracy—one with very limited interaction among the spokes. The leading two Supreme Court cases were "Interstate Circuit" and "Kotteakos".
Wheel stud Wheel stud Wheel studs are the threaded fasteners that hold on the wheels of many automobiles. They are semi-permanently mounted directly to the vehicle hub, usually through the brake drum or brake disk. Lug nuts are fastened onto the wheel stud to secure the wheel. When a wheel is removed for tire changes etc., the stud remains in the hub. Many automobiles instead use bolts to do this, where removable bolts screw into the wheel hub. Wheel studs can be either factory equipment or aftermarket add-ons. The primary advantage of wheel studs over wheel bolts is greater ease for tire