Parties to a Crime Flashcards
Parties to a Crime
Under the modern rule, in most jurisdictions, the parties to a crime can be:
1) a principal,
2) an accomplice, and
3) an accessory after the fact.
At common law, the principal was called the principal in the first degree, and an accessory who was actually or constructively present at the scene of the crime was called the principal in the second degree.
An accomplice who was not present at the crime scene was called an accessory before the fact or after the fact, depending on when he provided assistance.
who is a principal?
A principal is the person whose acts or commission are the actus reus of the crime–i.e., the perpetrator of the crime.
The principal must be actually or constructively present at the scene of the crime.
A principal is constructively present when some instrumentality he left or controlled resulted in the commission of the crime.
Joint principals
If two or more people are directly responsible for the actus reus, they are joint principals (i.e., co-principals).
Who is an accomplice?
An accomplice (i.e., an accessory before the fact or a principal in the second degree) is a person who, with the requisite mens rea, aids or abets a principal prior to or during the commission of the crime.
Example of principal in the second degree
Some states draw a distinction between an accessory before the fact and a principal in the second degree based upon presence at the scene of the crime.
An accomplice who is physically or constructively present during the commission of the crime is a principal in the second degree.
- For example, a getaway driver some distance from the scene is deemed constructively present and will be considered a principal in the second degree.
Accessory before the fact
An accomplice who is neither physically nor constructively present during the commission of the crime, but who possesses the requisite intent,
- for example someone who helped plan the crime or acquired tools or weapons necessary to commit the crime, is an accessory before the fact.
Accomplice’s mental state
Majority Rule
Under the majority and MPC rule, a person is an accomplice in the commission of an offense if he acts with the purpose of promoting or facilitating the commission of the offense.
The accomplice must solicit, aid, agree, or attempt to aid in the planning or commission of the crime, with the intent that the crime actually be committed.
***Mere knowledge that another person intends to commit a crime is not enough to make a person an accomplice.***
Accomplice’s mental state
Minority Rule
A minority of states hold a person liable as an accomplice if he intentionally or knowingly aids, induces, or causes another person to commit an offense.
Under the minority rule, any voluntary act that actually assists or encourages the principal in a known criminal aim is sufficient for accomplice liability even if the person does not act with the intent of aiding the commission of the crime.
Accomplice’s mental state
Reckless or negligence mental state crimes
When the crime committed by the principal only requires the principal to act recklessly or negligently (e.g., involuntary manslaughter), a person may be an accomplice to that crime under the majority rule if the person merely acts recklessly or negligently with regard the principal’s commission of the crime, rather than purposefully or intentionally.
*MPC
Accomplice’s criminal liability
An accomplice is responsible for the crime to the same extent as the principal.
If the principal commits crimes other than the crimes for which the accomplice has provided encouragement or assistance, then the accomplice is liable for the other crimes if the crimes are the natural and probable consequences of the accomplice’s conduct.
Example: D encourages E to burn V’s house, and E does so. The fire spreads to W’s house, and it was foreseeable that it would do so. D is an accomplice to the burning of W’s house.
May an accomplice be criminally liable even though she cannot be a principal?
YES.
Example: A woman who could not commit rape at common law as a principal could be liable for rape if she aided the male principal (e.g., restraining the victim) in his rape of the victim.
Can an accomplice withdrawal?
To legally withdraw (and therefore avoid liability for the substantive crime), the accomplice must:
(i) repudiate prior aid,
(ii) do all that is possible to countermand prior assistance, and
(iii) do so before the chain of events is in motion and unstoppable.
A mere change of heart, a flight from the crime scene, an arrest by law enforcement, or an uncommunicated decision to withdraw is ineffective.
Notification to the legal authorities must be timely and directed toward preventing others from committing the crime.
***This is different than the withdrawal rules for inchoate crimes: solicitation, attempt, and conspiracy.
Persons not accomplices
A person who is a member of the class protected by a statute cannot be an accomplice.
Similarly, when the crime requires another party, the other party is not, simply by engaging in the criminal act, guilty of the crime as an accomplice.
For example, the buyer of drugs is not guilty of the crime of distributing drugs simply by purchasing the drugs (but of course he may be guilty of a different crime).
Effect of principal’s status
Criminal conviction of accomplice under common law and modern approach.
Common law:
The accomplice could be convicted of a crime only if the principal was also previously convicted of the crime.
However, a principal in the second degree could be convicted even if the principal in the first degree was not convicted. A small minority of jurisdictions still subscribes to this approach.
Modern:
By statute, however, in most jurisdictions, an accomplice may be convicted of a crime even if:
1) the principal is not tried,
2) is not convicted,
3) has been given immunity from prosecution, or
4) is acquitted.
Accessory after the fact
An accessory after the fact is a person who aids or assists a felon in avoiding apprehension or conviction after commission of the felony.
An accessory after the fact:
1) must know that a felony was committed,
2) act specifically to aid or assist the felon, and
3) give the aid or assistance for the purpose of helping the felon avoid apprehension or conviction.
An accessory after the fact is not subject to punishment for the crime committed by the felon, but instead has committed a separate crime, frequently labeled “obstruction of justice” or “harboring a fugitive.”
