Aiding, Abetting and Accessories Resource

Aiding and Abetting

A criminal charge of aiding, abetting or being an accessory can be brought against any individual that helps in the commission of a crime or that is otherwise involved in the crime, but the legal distinctions associated with this charge can vary significantly from one state to the next. A person who is charged with aiding, abetting or being an accessory is typically not present when the crime itself is committed, but rather he or she has some kind of knowledge of the crime either before or after the fact, and may otherwise assist in the commission of the crime through financial support, actions or advice. Depending on what degree of involvement comes into play, the participation of the offender can actually rise to the level of conspiracy to commit the crime rather than as a simple aiding abetting accessory charge.

For example, if an individual draws a floor plan for a store or a bank, knowing full well that another individual intends to use that floor plan to rob said store or bank, and then another individual allows the robber to store the stolen money at his or her house, both the individual drawing up the floor plan and the individual storing the money can be charged with aiding and abetting or otherwise acting as accessories to the robbery even though they were not present when the actual robbery was committed.

• If you need legal assistance with a Criminal Charge, click here to consult with an Criminal Defense Lawyer near you to discuss the details of your case. This website is for informational purposes only.

Accessories to a Crime

Anyone, then, who intentionally participates in a crime or helps a criminal either before or after the commission of the crime can and will be held responsible for it, because they could have stopped it. People participate in crimes in different ways and in different degrees but they can always be held liable if they participate. For example, one person may be responsible for committing the hold up in a bank robbery scenario, while another person is involved by waiting in the getaway car. A third person could be positioned in a different position to act as a lookout. In this scenario, both the driver and the lookout are both accessories to the crime because they participated even though they did not directly commit the robbery in question.

Here are some basic rules when it comes to aiding, abetting and accomplices.

• As a general rule, the law refers to the main participant in a crime as the principle, and assisting persons are referred to as accomplices.
• Accomplices are anyone who intentionally helps another commit a crime.
• Even when an accomplice does not carry the crime out, the pre-crime or post crime assistance makes him or her just as guilty as whoever committed the crime itself.
• Proving that a defendant is an accomplice or an accessory involves proving that he or she intentionally aided in the commission of the crime in question, meaning that the defendant had to have realized that the principal was committing a crime, and as an accomplice, intended to help the crime succeed.

• If you need legal assistance with a Criminal Charge, click here to consult with an Criminal Defense Lawyer near you to discuss the details of your case. This website is for informational purposes only.