ACCESSORY
Aiding or contributing in a secondary way or assisting in or contributing to as a subordinate.
In CRIMINAL LAW, contributing to or aiding in the commission of a crime. One who, without being present at the commission of an offense, becomes guilty of such offense, not as a chief actor, but as a participant, as by command, advice, instigation, or concealment; either before or after the fact or commission.
One who aids, abets, commands, or counsels another in the commission of a crime.
In common law, an accessory could not be found guilty unless the actual perpetrator was convicted. In most U.S. jurisdictions today, however, an accessory can be convicted even if the principal actor is not arrested or is acquitted. The prosecution must establish that the accessory in some way instigated, furthered, or concealed the crime. Typically, punishment for a convicted accessory is not as severe as that for the perpetrator.
An accessory must knowingly promote or contribute to the crime. In other words, she or he must aid or encourage the offense deliberately, not accidentally. The accessory may withdraw from the crime by denouncing the plans, refusing to assist with the crime, contacting the police, or trying to stop the crime from occurring.
An accessory before the fact is someone behind the scenes who orders a crime or helps another person commit it. Many jurisdictions now refer to accessories before the fact as parties to the crime or even accomplices. This substitution of terms can be confusing because accessories are fundamentally different from accomplices. Strictly speaking, whereas anACCOMPLICE may be present at the crime scene,an accessory may not. Also, an accomplice generallyis considered to be as guilty of the crime asthe perpetrator, whereas an accessory has traditionallyreceived a lighter punishment. An accessory after the fact is someone whoknows that a crime has occurred but nonethelesshelps to conceal it. Today, this action is oftentermed obstructing justice or harboring a fugitive.
An infamous accessory after the fact was Dr.Samuel A. Mudd, the physician and Confederatesympathizer who set John Wilkes Booth’s leg after it was broken when the assassin jumpedfrom President Abraham Lincoln’s box at FordTheater. Despite Mudd’s protestation of innocence,he was tried and convicted as an accessoryafter the fact in Lincoln’s murder. He was sentencedto life imprisonment at Fort Jefferson inthe Dry Tortugas off Key West, Florida. PresidentANDREW JOHNSON pardoned Mudd in1869, and the U.S. Congress gave him an officialpardon in 1979.
FURTHER READINGS
Berg, Alan. 1996. “Accessory Liability For Breach of Trust.”Modern Law Review 59 (May): 443-453.
Blakey, Robert G., and Kevin P. Roddy. 1996. “Reflections on Reves v. Ernst & Young: Its Meaning and Impact On Substantive, Accessory, Aiding Abetting and Conspiracy Liability Under RICO.” American Criminal Law Review 33: 1345-1702.
Huett, Lisa. 2001. “Could You Be an Accessory? Uncertainty and Risk For Lawyers.” Law Institute Journal 75 (March).
