Aiding and Abetting a Crime & Legal Defenses
Helping another person commit a crime may seem like a small transgression, but it can result in harsh consequences. If you are suspected of “aiding and abetting,” you should take the situation seriously and consult a criminal attorney. In the meantime, you should not explain your side of the story to law enforcement. Even if you believe that you did nothing wrong, you could inadvertently say something that comes back to haunt you later.
Elements of Aiding and Abetting
In broad terms, the defendant must have intended to facilitate a crime committed by someone else. They must have provided some form of support, assistance, advice, or encouragement to the main perpetrator, known as the “principal." (“Aiding” is often seen as assistance, while “abetting” is often seen as encouragement, but laws usually merge these terms into a single concept.) A defendant sometimes may be convicted of aiding or abetting a crime even if they were not present when it was committed.
Examples of Aiding and Abetting
At dinner with his friend Angela, Phil laments his money troubles. He tells Angela that he is thinking of robbing a bank, but he is not sure if he could get away with it. Angela reassures him that he is too smart to get caught and urges him to move forward with the robbery.
Arthur, another friend of Phil, works at the bank. When Phil robs the bank, Arthur prevents a coworker from calling the police.
Offenses Related to Aiding and Abetting
Some laws separately target another type of person known as an “accessory after the fact.” This usually means that they knowingly helped someone who committed a crime (or a certain type of crime) avoid the consequences. For example, someone who hides Phil while the police are looking for him after the bank robbery could be charged as an accessory after the fact.
More generally, aiding and abetting is considered an “inchoate crime,” which is a term that describes various preliminary or incomplete offenses. These crimes also include:
- Solicitation: asking or directing another person to commit a crime
- Attempt: intending to commit a crime and taking a “substantial step” or similar action in that direction
- Conspiracy: an agreement to commit a crime, coupled with an overt act by one of the conspirators in furtherance of the unlawful plan
Sometimes the process of aiding or abetting a crime involves committing a separate crime. A defendant in this situation could face penalties for both the crime that they committed and the crime that they aided or abetted. For example, someone who sells a gun to a person who is not allowed to own a firearm, knowing that they plan to kill another person, might be charged with both a firearm violation and aiding and abetting murder.
Defenses to Aiding and Abetting
Someone charged with aiding and abetting might question whether the prosecution can prove the intent element. Perhaps the defendant did not even know about the crime. Other strategies might include arguing that another person falsely accused them, or that they were coerced against their will into helping the principal. In some cases, a defendant might argue that their assistance only came after the crime. This might make them an accessory after the fact, which often carries lighter penalties.
In limited situations, a defendant may be able to avoid a conviction for aiding and abetting if they withdrew from their participation in the crime. This requires meeting certain conditions. For example, California allows a withdrawal defense only if the defendant told everyone else whom they knew to be involved in the crime about their withdrawal early enough to prevent the crime, and the defendant did what they could to prevent the crime.
Penalties for Aiding and Abetting
The general rule is that someone who aids or abets a crime faces the same range of penalties as the principal. Under the federal aiding and abetting statute, for example, anyone who aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces, or procures the commission of an offense against the United States may be punished as a principal. As another example, Texas has formally abolished the traditional distinction separating principals from people who aid or abet them.
In practice, though, a defendant charged with this type of conduct often incurs lighter penalties than the principal. They may be able to reduce their potential sentence by negotiating with the prosecutor to testify against the principal or otherwise cooperate in the investigation. A judge also may feel that someone who played a very small role in a crime deserves a more lenient sentence than the main perpetrator.
