Accomplice Liability (Ch. 7) Flashcards
aider and abettor doctrine
makes aiders and abettors liable for their accomplices’ actions as well as their own.
requirements for aiding and abetting:
(1) a crime committed by the direct perpetrator, (2) knowledge of the direct perpetrator’s unlawful intent and an intent to assist in achieving those unlawful ends, and (3) conduct by the aider and abettor that in fact assist the achievement of the crime.
What is an accomplice guilty of?
The crime committed by the perpetrator.
principal in the first degree
the person who personally commits the actus reus with the necessary mens rea.
principal in the second degree
person who aids, assists, or encourages the crime and is actually or constructively present at the scene of the crime. (a.k.a. accomplice).
accessory before the fact
person who aids, assists, or encourages the crime but is not actually or constructively present at the scene of the crime.
accessory after the fact
person who did not take part in the planning or perpetration of the crime, but who, after the crime was committed, sheltered, hid, or otherwise assisted the parties to avoid arrest or prosecution. (at common law, could be convicted of the crime committed by the principal in the first degree).
Today, someone who helps a criminal avoid arrest or prosecution may be convicted of…
some variety of obstruction of justice.
elements of accessory liability in CA
(1) someone other than the accused must have committed a specific, completed felony, (2) the accused must have harbored, concealed, or aided the principal, (3) with knowledge that the principal committed the felony, and (4) with the intent that the principal avoid or escape from arrest, trial, conviction, or punishment.
natural and probable consequences doctrine
says that an accomplice is only liable for a crime that he did not intend to aid and abet if the additional crime was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the target crime.
Can a parent who fails to protect her child from a spouse/partner who abuses the child be prosecuted for child abuse?
Yes, as long as the parent, through his or her inaction, intended to aid the perpetrator in commission of the crime.
suicide
suicide is not a crime in CA, but it is a felony to hel someone commit suicide.
uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice
A criminal conviction cannot be based on this type of evidence unless it is corroborated by other evidence that connects the defendant with the crime.
