Principals, accomplices, aiders, and abettors Flashcards
Principals: children
At common law:
- Children under the age of seven were never capable of committing a crime;
- Children between the ages of 7-14 were rebuttably presumed to be incapable of committing crimes;
- Children who were at least 14 years old could be charged as adults.
Principals
Defendants whose acts or omissions form the actus reus of the crime.
There can be more than one principal to a particular crime.
Accomplices
Under the majority and MPC approach, an accomplice is a person who, with the purpose of promoting or facilitating the commission of the offense, aids or abets a principal prior to or during the commission of the crime.
An accomplice is responsible for the crime to the same extent as the principal.
The accomplice’s assistance to the principal may be verbal encouragement, financial assistance, or physical assistance, provided that the accomplice has the requisite intent to encourage or assist in the commission of the crime.
Accomplices: foreseeable crimes
Accomplices can be liable for both the planned crime and any other foreseeable crime that occurs in the course of the criminal act.
Accomplices: principal’s liability
Accomplices can be criminally liable:
- even if they cannot be a principal—e.g., if assisting a public official in taking bribes; or
- even if the principal cannot be convicted—e.g., assisting a child under seven in a crime.
Accomplices: persons protected by statute
A person protected by a statute, e.g., a minor by a statutory rape statute, is not an accomplice in violating the statute.
Accessories after the fact
An accessory after the fact is one who:
(1) knows that a felony was committed;
(2) acts specifically to aid or assist the felon—i.e., mere failure to give information regarding a felony is not sufficient; and
(3) gives the aid or assistance for the purpose of helping the felon avoid apprehension or conviction.
People who assist the defendant after the crime has been committed—e.g., obstruction of justice or harboring a fugitive—may be convicted of such separate crimes but generally not on the primary crime.
Aiders and abettors: conspiracy
In addition to accomplice liability for the substantive crime, individuals who aid or abet a defendant to commit a crime may also be guilty of the separate crime of conspiracy if:
(1) There was an agreement to commit the crime, AND;
(2) An overt act was taken in furtherance of that agreement.
Mental state of accomplices
(1) Mens rea requirements:
(a) Majority and MPC approach:
The accomplice must act with the purpose of promoting or facilitating the commission of the offense.
(b) Minority approach:
The accomplice is liable if he intentionally or knowingly aids or causes another person to commit an offense.
(2) Criminal facilitation:
Under the majority rule, a person not guilty of the substantive crime—i.e., for lack of intent—may nevertheless be guilty of the lesser offense of facilitation for simply assisting.
Accomplices: scope of 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, an accomplice is liable for the other crimes if they are the natural and probable consequences of the accomplice’s conduct.
Accomplices: assisted suicide
Providing a person with the means by which that person can commit suicide generally does not make the provider guilty of murder as an accomplice but instead guilty of a lesser crime, such as assisting a suicide.
Accessories before the fact
An accomplice who is neither physically nor constructively present during the commission of the crime, but who possesses the requisite intent (e.g., by providing the instrument for the crime), is an accessory before the fact.
Accessories before the fact are liable to the same extent as the principal.
Even if the principal ultimately used a means to accomplish her crimes different from the one provided by the accessory before the fact, the accomplice can still be liable.
Accomplices: majority approach to liability
By modern statute and in a majority of jurisdictions, an accomplice may be convicted of a crime even if the principal is not tried, is not convicted, has been given immunity from prosecution, or is acquitted.
At common law, however, an accomplice could be convicted of a crime only if the principal was also previously convicted of the crime.
Accomplices: essential element of another’s crime
A person is not guilty as an accomplice when that person’s action is itself an essential element of the crime.
For example, when the crime requires another party—i.e., the crime of distributing drugs requires a purchaser—the other party is not, simply by engaging in the criminal act, guilty of the crime as an accomplice.
Withdrawal
To legally withdraw—and therefore avoid liability for the substantive crime—the accomplice must:
(1) repudiate prior aid; and
(2) do all that he can to negate the prior assistance before the crime is put into motion.
A mere change of heart after the crime is put into motion is ineffective, as notification to the legal authorities must be timely and directed toward preventing others from committing the crime.
