Accomplice Liability

Question 1

Parties to a Crime (CL)

Answer 1

Principals in the first degree: Persons who actually engaged in the act or omission that constitutes the offense or who caused an innocent agent to do so

Principals in the second degree: Persons who aided, advised, or encouraged the principal and were present at the crime

Accessories before the fact: persons who assisted or encouraged but were not present.

Accessories after the fact: Persons who, with knowledge that
the other committed a felony, assisted them to escape arrest or
punishment

Question 2

Modern Statutes: Accomplice Liability

Answer 2

All such “parties to the crime” can be found guilty of
the principal offense.

Principal = one who, with the requisite mental state, actually engages in the act or omission that causes the criminal result.

Accomplice = one who aids, advises, or encourages the principal in the commission of the crime charged.

NOTE: An accessory after the fact is still treated separately.

Question 3

Mental State Required for Accomplice Liability

Answer 3

The accomplice must have:
(1) The intent to assist the principal in the commission of a crime, and
(2) The intent that the principal commit the substantive offense

BUT if the substantive offense involves recklessness or negligence, the intent element is satisfied if the accomplice:
(1) intended to facilitate the commission of the crime, and
(2) acted with recklessness or negligence

Question 4

Scope of an Accomplice’s Liability

Answer 4

An accomplice is responsible for:
- The crimes they did
- The crimes they counseled
- For any other crimes committed in the course of the planned crime, to the same extent as the principal, so long as they were probable and foreseeable.

Question 5

Who is Excluded from Accomplice Liability?

Answer 5

MEMBERS OF THE PROTECTED CLASS
Members of the class protected by a statute are excluded from
accomplice liability (E.g., a woman transported across state lines cannot be an accomplice to the crime of transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes, because she was within the protected class.)

NECESSARY PARTIES NOT PROVIDED FOR
A party necessary to the commission of a crime who is not provided for in the statute is excluded from accomplice liability (e.g., the purchaser of heroin is not an accomplice to dealing drugs, if not in the statute, even though they are necessary for the crime of drug dealing to occur)

WITHDRAWAL
A person who withdraws from a crime and attempts to neutralize the effects of their prior involvement BEFORE the crime is committed cannot be held guilty as an accomplice.
- Withdrawal must occur before the crime becomes unstoppable, and cannot just be withdrawal without action.