As stated in , in many jurisdictions accessory is an offense that is graded less severely than the crime committed by the principal. Accessory is typically graded as a misdemeanor, 1 although in some jurisdictions it is graded as a felony. 2
|
Type of Liability |
Criminal Act |
Criminal Intent |
|
Accomplice |
Aid, assist commission of a crime |
Specific or purposely, or general or knowingly, depending on the jurisdiction |
|
Accessory |
Aid, assist evasion of prosecution or conviction for a felony, high-level misdemeanor, or any crime |
General or knowingly (crime committed) plus specific or purposely (principal evades prosecution or conviction) |
|
Vicarious |
Committed by an individual in a special relationship with the defendant |
Belongs to an individual in a special relationship with the defendant |
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Accomplice liability holds a complicit defendant accountable for the crime the principal commits; accessory is a separate crime that is typically a misdemeanor.
- The criminal act element required for an accessory is aiding or assisting the principal escape or evade arrest, prosecution for, or conviction of a felony, high-level misdemeanor, or any crime, depending on the jurisdiction. In many jurisdictions words are enough to constitute the accessory criminal act element.
- The criminal intent element required for an accessory has two parts. The defendant must act
- with general intent or knowingly that the principal committed the crime,
- with specific intent or purposely to help the principal escape or evade arrest, prosecution for, or conviction of the offense.
- In many jurisdictions, the crime of accessory is graded lower than the crime the principal committed; typically, it is graded as a misdemeanor, although in some jurisdictions, it is graded as a felony.
EXERCISES
Answer the following questions. Check your answers using the answer key at the end of the chapter.
- Cory watches as her sister Amanda breaks into a parking meter across the street and starts scooping change into her purse. Amanda thereafter runs into a nearby alley and hides behind a dumpster. A police officer arrives on the scene and asks Cory if she witnessed the crime. Cory responds, “No, I didn’t notice anything.” The police officer does a search, does not find Amanda, and leaves. Has Cory committed a crime? If your answer is yes, which crime has Cory committed, and does Cory have a possible defense?
- Read U.S. v. Hill, 268 F.3d 1140 (2001). In Hill, the defendant was convicted o f harboring a fugitive and being an accessory when she helped her husband escape the country to avoid prosecution for a failure to pay child support. The defendant claimed that her convictions were unconstitutional because they contravened her right to privacy, association, marriage, and due process. Did the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit uphold the defendant’s convictions? The case is available at this link: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1215479.html.
- Read Statev.Truesdell, 620 P.2d 427 (1980). In Truesdell, the prosecution appealed the dismissal of the defendant’s case that was a prosecution for accessory to her twelve- year-old son’s felony shooting of her ex-husband. The lower court held that the defendant could not be an accessory to a felony because her son was not an adult who could be charged with a felony. Did the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals reverse the lower court and permit the defendant to be tried as an accessory? Why or why not? The case is available at this link: http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14038267185437754114&q=%20State+v.+Truesdell+620+P.2d+427+%281980%29&hl=en&as_sdt=2,5
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