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| Criminal law |
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| Part of the common law series |
| Criminal elements |
| Actus reus · Causation · Concurrence |
| Mens rea · Intention · Recklessness |
| Criminal negligence · Ignorantia juris… |
| Strict, Corporate & Vicarious liability |
| Crimes against people |
| Assault · Battery · Robbery |
| Sexual offences · Pimping · Rape |
| Kidnapping · Manslaughter · Murder |
| Crimes against property |
| Property damage · Arson |
| Theft · Burglary · Deception |
| Crimes against justice |
| Obstruction of justice · Bribery |
| Perjury · Malfeasance in office |
| Inchoate offenses |
| Attempt |
| Conspiracy · Accessory |
| Criminal defenses |
| Automatism, Intoxication & Mistake |
| Insanity · Diminished responsibility |
| Duress · Necessity |
| Provocation · Self defence |
| Other areas of the common law |
| Contract law · Tort law · Property law |
| Wills and trusts · Evidence |
| Portals: Law · Criminal justice |
At law, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even though they take no part in the actual criminal offence. The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different Jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive Actus reus, sometimes called the external element or the objective element of a crime is the Latin term for the "guilty act" which when proved Causation is the "causal relationship between conduct and result In Western Jurisprudence, concurrence, (or contemporaneity or simultaneity) is the apparent need to prove the simultaneous occurrence In Criminal law, mens rea the Latin term for "guilty mind" is usually one of the necessary elements of a Crime. In the Criminal law, intention is one of the three general classes of Mens rea necessary to constitute a conventional as opposed to In the Criminal law, recklessness (also called unchariness) is one of the four possible classes of mental state constituting Mens rea (the In the Criminal law, criminal negligence is one of the three general classes of Mens rea ( Latin for "guilty mind" element required Ignorantia juris non excusat or Ignorantia legis neminem excusat ( Latin for " Ignorance of the Law does not excuse" In Criminal law, strict liability is liability for which Mens rea ( Latin for "guilty mind" does not have to be proven in relation In the Criminal law, corporate liability determines the extent to which a Corporation as a fictitious person can be liable for the acts and omissions The legal principle of vicarious liability applies to hold one person liable for the actions of another when engaged in some form of joint or collective activity In Criminal law, an offence against the person usually refers to a crime which is committed by direct physical harm or force being applied to another person Assault is a Crime of Violence against another person. In some Jurisdictions including Australia and New Zealand, Battery is a term used by the Common law jurisdictions which involves an Injury or other Contact upon the Person of another in a manner likely Robbery is the Crime of seizing Property through Violence or Intimidation. A pimp (also called fleshmonger) finds and manages clients for Prostitutes and engages them in Prostitution (in Brothels in most cases and Rape, also referred to as Sexual assault, is an Assault by a person involving Sexual intercourse with or Sexual penetration of another person In Criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or Asportation of a person against the person's will usually to hold the person in False imprisonment Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being in a manner considered by law as less culpable than Murder. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries Property damage (or in the United Kingdom, criminal damage) is damage to or the destruction of public or private Property, caused either by a In Criminal law, theft (also known as stealing or filching) is the illegal taking of another person's Property without that person's freely-given In English law, the main deception offences are defined in the Theft Act 1968 (TA68 the Theft Act 1978 and the Theft (Amendment Act 1996 The crime of obstruction of justice includes crimes committed by Judges Prosecutors attorneys general, and elected officials in general Bribery, a form of pecuniary corruption is an act usually implying money or gift given that alters the behaviour of the recipient in ways not consistent with the duties of that person Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under Oath or Affirmation in a Malfeasance in office, or official misconduct, is the commission of an Unlawful act done in an official capacity which affects the performance of official duties Attempt crimes are crimes where the defendant's actions have the form of the actual enaction of the crime itself the actions must go beyond mere preparation In the Criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between Natural persons to break the law at some time in the future and in some cases with at least one overt act An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a Crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal For a more detailed discussion of individual topics see Automatism (case law In the Criminal Law, automatism is a defense to liability Intoxication is the state of being affected by one or more psychoactive drugs. A mistake of fact may sometimes offer exculpation (as in Excuse) by allowing a criminal Defendant some relief from liability for having broken the In Criminal trials the insanity defenses are possible defenses by Excuse, an Affirmative defense by which Defendants argue that In Criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by Excuse by which Defendants argue that For English law on the criminal defence see Duress in English law. In Criminal law, necessity may be either a possible justification or an exculpation for breaking the Law. Also see Provocation in English law. In Criminal law, provocation is a possible defense by excuse or exculpation The right of self-defense (also called alter ego defense, defense of others, defense of a third person) is the right for civilians acting on their A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law Tort law is the name given to a body of law that creates and provides remedies for civil wrongs that do not arise out of Contractual duties Property law is the area of Law that governs the various forms of Ownership in Real property (land as distinct from personal or movable possessions In Common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the Testator) regulates the rights of others over his or her Property The law of trusts and estates is generally considered the body of Law which governs the management of personal affairs and the Disposition of Property of The Law of evidence governs the use of Testimony (eg oral or written statements such as an Affidavit) and exhibits (e In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment For example, in a bank robbery, the person who points the gun at the teller and asks for the money is guilty of armed robbery. Robbery is the Crime of seizing Property through Violence or Intimidation. However, anyone else directly involved in the commission of the crime, such as the lookout or the getaway car driver, is an accomplice, even though in the absence of an underlying offence keeping a lookout or driving a car would not be an offence. A lookout or look-out is a person on a Ship in charge of the observation of the sea for hazards other ships land etc
An accomplice differs from an accessory in that an accomplice is present at the actual crime, and could be prosecuted even if the main criminal (the principal) is not charged or convicted. An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a Crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal An accessory is generally not present at the actual crime, and may be subject to lesser penalties than an accomplice or principal. Under Criminal law, a principal is any actor who is primarily responsible for a criminal offense
In older sources, an accomplice was often referred to as an abettor. Abettor (from to abet Old French abeter, á and beter, to bait urge dogs upon any one this word is probably of Scandinavian origin This term is not in active use, having been replaced by accomplice.
At law, an accomplice has the same degree of guilt as the person he or she is assisting, is subject to prosecution for the same crime, and faces the same criminal penalties. ---- Guilt is the Fact, state or Verdict (by a Court or other Tribunal) of an Offence, Crime, Violation The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the Common law Adversarial system, or the civil law As such, the three accomplices to the bank robbery above can also be found guilty of armed robbery even though only one stole the money.
The fairness of the doctrine that the accomplice is as guilty as the primary offender has been discussed many times, particularly in cases of capital crimes. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. On several occasions, accomplices have been prosecuted for felony murder even though the actual person who committed the murder died at the crime scene or otherwise did not face capital punishment. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment.
One of the most notorious cases of this type was the 1952 case in England involving Derek Bentley, a mentally-challenged man who was in police custody when his sixteen-year-old companion, Christopher Craig, shot and killed a police officer during a botched break-in (News Report [1]). Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Derek William Bentley ( 30 June 1933 – 28 January 1953) was hanged for a murder which was committed by a friend and accomplice of Police are agents or agencies usually of the executive, empowered to enforce the law and to effect public and social order through the legitimatized use of force Craig was sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure, since as a juvenile offender he could not be sentenced to death (he was released after serving ten years), but Bentley was hanged. At Her Majesty's pleasure ("His Majesty" when appropriate is a legal phrase that derives from the fact that the authority of the Law, including the courts In law the term minor (also infant or infancy) is used to refer to a person who is under the age in which one legally assumes Adulthood and is legally Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. The incident was dramatized in the film Let Him Have It, which is what Bentley allegedly said to Craig during the incident, it being unclear whether he meant for Craig to shoot the officer, or to surrender the gun. Let Him Have It is a 1991 British film set in 1952 and based on the true story of the case against Derek Bentley, who was hanged for murder The hanging of Bentley led to public outrage and the eventual abolition of capital punishment in the United Kingdom. Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located
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Aiding and Abetting under U. S. Law
Courts often refer to aiding and abetting as an alternate theory of liability rather than a separate crime. Under 18 U. S. C. § 2, aiding and abetting liability is available in all federal criminal prosecutions; however, the availability and extent of civil aiding and abetting liability varies from statute to statute. Where available, aiding and abetting liability generally requires three elements: 1) an underlying violation by a principal; 2) knowledge of that violation and/or the intent to facilitate the violation; and 3) assistance to the principal in the violation. As indicated by the Supreme Court, “In order to aid and abet another to commit a crime it is necessary that a defendant 'in some sort associate himself with the venture, that he participate in it as in something that he wishes to bring about, that he seek by his action to make it succeed. ” Nye & Nissen v. United States, 336 U. S. 613, 618 (1949) quoting Judge Learned Hand in U. S. v. Peoni 100 F. 2d 401, 402 (2d. Cir. 1938).
In 1982, the United States Supreme Court held that accomplices may not be executed for the capital crimes of other criminals, if there is no evidence that the accomplice knew or even suspected that the primary wrongdoer might commit murder. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. In Enmund v. Florida, 458 U. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the S. 782 (1982), the accomplice was sitting in a car outside a house where a robbery was committed, and had no inkling that his partner in crime was going to kill the robbery victim.
Some states, including the state of California, have a system that distinguishes between an accessory, an accomplice, and a principal (or co-principal) in a different way. In this system, the difference between an accessory and an accomplice is not as listed above. An accessory would ONLY be someone who aids and abets the principal (the person who committed the crime OR helped in the planning of the crime) to escape justice after the crime has been committed (there is no more accessory "before" and "after" the fact. . . what was once "accessory before the fact" is now just "co-principal", and what was once "accessory after the fact" is now just "accessory". An accomplice is NOT a formal legal term in many states. . . it is "legal slang", and denotes ONLY "an accessory or co-principal that agrees to testify against another principal in a court of law".
Application to "White Collar Crimes"
Since 2001, the Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a number of complaints related to the aiding and abetting of securities fraud. For example, CIBC and Merrill Lynch were separately charged with aiding and abetting Enron’s evasion of record keeping requirements and required financial controls. Settlements, including disgorgement, penalties, and interest reached $80 million in both cases.
References
- Guam v. Dela Rosa, 644 F. 2d 1257, 1260-61 (9th Cir. 1981) (per curiam) defining an accomplice as “one who could have been indicted for the same offense either as an accessory or principal”
External links
Dictionary
accomplice
-noun
- (rare) A cooperator.
- (law) An associate in the commission of a crime; a participator in an offense, whether a principal or an accessory.
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