If you aid or abet the crime, it is a criminal offense in California. Charges for an accessory are the same as those of the actual perpetrator. Being an accessory to a crime before the fact eans that you helped or encouraged someone else to commit a criminal offense, and you did so during or before they committed the crime. If the judge concludes that you had a hand in the commission of a particular crime, you could receive a severe penalty comprising time in jail and payment of a hefty fine. You will also have a criminal record that will impact all aspects of your life, including your social life.

But you can challenge the charges in court with a legal defense strategy and the help of a competent criminal defense attorney. If successful, the judge will drop or reduce your charges.

The Legal Implications of Being an Accessory

The crime rate in California is increasing every day. Sadly, the people who commit these crimes are people we know and are associated with. It could be a neighbor, friend, or even a family member. The problem is that sometimes the people we know or love commit crimes to our total knowledge. Sometimes you are tempted to look the other way, and other times you are left without a choice other than to help them. But, any of those is also considered a crime in California. Being an accessory to a crime is the same as committing the said offense.

California's police and justice system are working hard toward ending crime and ensuring absolute safety for California residents. The police go after actual offenders and those who assisted them in committing a crime. As a law-abiding citizen, you must try your best to stop a crime from happening. If you know someone committed an offense, you should ensure they face the consequences of their actions. Covering up for a criminal makes you a criminal as well and could result in time in jail and a hefty fine for you. You will also be left with a damaging criminal record that could affect your social and career life.

Being an accessory to a crime before its commission is an offense committed by anyone that helps, aids, or prompts another to commit an offense. You can do this in so many ways, including:

  • Being on the lookout for the police and passersby as your friends break into and steal from someone else's car or home

  • Being the driver of a get-away vehicle that your friends use to flee the scene after robbing a jewelry shop

  • Providing the tools and equipment your friends need to commit a crime

  • Bringing a victim to a scene of the crime to make it easier for the actual perpetrators

  • Providing information to a person when you know so well that they need that information to commit a crime

  • Assisting in the rape or kidnapping of another person

In some states, you are considered an accessory before a crime if you only help but are not present during the commission of the offense. In California, what is essential is that you provide the needed help or encouragement to commit the crime. You could still face charges under this law even when you were present at the crime scene. Remember that an accessory before a crime assists or encourages the crime. Thus, if your role at the crime scene is to promote or help the actual perpetrator as they commit the crime, you are still an accessory to the crime before its commission.

Additionally, some states only consider a person an accessory after a crime if they only help or encourage another person to commit a felony offense, not a misdemeanor. For instance, the law in Massachusetts only punishes a person who assists, aids, encourages, or counsels a principal offender in a felony offense. You could face charges under this law even when you aid the commission of a misdemeanor in California.

Elements of the Offense

If you aid or provide assistance or encouragement to a person planning to commit a crime before they commit the crime, you will face charges for being an accessory to the crime before its commission. The prosecutor must prove the elements of this crime beyond a reasonable doubt for the jury to declare you guilty as charged. These elements are:

  • That you knew or should have reasonably known that another person intended to commit a particular crime

  • But before they did so, you willfully assisted, aided, or encouraged them to commit the crime

  • Your assistance or encouragement helped or abetted the offender in committing the said crime

Remember that doing something willfully and knowingly means that you were aware of the actual perpetrator's plans to commit an offense, and you provided the assistance or tools they needed to achieve that.

Promoting, encouraging, or instigating a crime is enough for you to face criminal charges under California law.

Being an Accessory After the Fact Vs. Aiding or Abetting a Crime

In California, being an accessory is charged as aiding or abetting a crime. Thus, the two offenses are the same. The law defines a person who aids or helps a crime as any person involved other than the principal or actual perpetrator, whether or not they are present during the crime commission.

The law against aiding or abetting a crime is under California PC 31. The offense is defined as facilitating, encouraging, or assisting another person to commit an offense. You are guilty under this law even if you played a very insignificant role in the crime. But the district attorney must show your involvement in the crime before the judge gives the verdict. Merely knowing that someone was planning to commit an offense or being at the crime scene is not enough to support these charges.

You could be guilty of abetting or aiding a crime if the following elements are true:

  • That another person committed a crime

  • You knew or should have reasonably known that the said person planned to commit the crime

  • During or before they committed the crime, you intended to abet or aid the person in that crime

  • Your words, actions, or behavior did abet or aid the person in committing the crime

These are the same elements of the offense of being an accessory to a crime before its commission. Thus, the two violations are treated the same.

Legal Defense Strategies to Fight Charges of Being an Accessory Before the Fact

When you face criminal charges in California, it is necessary to prepare for defense if you do not wish to face the real punishment for the crime after a conviction. Fortunately, California law allows defendants to fight their charges during the trial to convince the judge to either drop or reduce their charges. You can do this with the help of a competent criminal defense attorney. Your attorney will use some of the defense strategies allowed by law for this offense to obtain a fair outcome for your situation. Some of the best strategies your attorney can use in your case include:

You Did Not Aid or Encourage a Person to Commit a Crime

The prosecutor must prove all elements of this crime beyond a reasonable doubt for the jury to find you guilty of being an accessory to a crime before its commission. If not, the jury will not give a guilty verdict. The prosecutor must prove that you encouraged, aided, or facilitated the commission of a particular offense. They must provide sufficient evidence before the jury to support these claims. Your attorney can fight this evidence by convincing the jury that you did not participate in the crime. If your attorney succeeds, the judge will dismiss your charges for lack of sufficient evidence to show that you aided or prodded another to commit the crime.

You are Falsely Accused

False accusations are widespread in California, whereby one person provides the police with wrong information to cause the arrest and prosecution of another. People do this out of jealousy, desire for revenge, or to get even with others. If it is true that someone else is accusing you of being an accessory to a crime you do not know about, you can use this defense to compel the jury to dismiss your charges.

It could be that your ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend is still angry with you and is looking for a way to obtain revenge against you. Or you fell out with your friends or colleagues, and they seek a way to get even with you. Your skilled attorney will prepare a detailed report providing the possible reason why your accuser made false allegations against you. If the defense team convinces the jury of your innocence, the court will acquit you of all your charges.

You Withdrew Your Involvement in the Crime

Your attorney will use this defense strategy if you had initially agreed to aid, facilitate or encourage the perpetrator, but you changed your mind along the way. It could be that you had agreed to supply the actual perpetrator with the material they needed to commit the crime, but you changed your mind and did not do it. Or you had agreed to bring the victim of sexual assault to the scene of a crime but changed your mind. If the perpetrator proceeded with the crime without your help or encouragement, you are not guilty of being an accessory even if you had initially agreed to help them.

Your attorney must prove that you were not involved in the crime in the first place. The court would dismiss your charges even if you had initially agreed to help. What matters is that you did not participate in the commission of the crime.

You Were Only Present At the Crime Scene

Your presence at a crime scene could be interpreted as involvement in a crime. Some people are paying for crimes they did not commit because they were present when the perpetrator committed the offense. But you could have been at the crime scene and not even know that the crime was happening. In that case, you are not guilty of participating in or aiding the commission of the crime.

Your attorney can argue that you were only present but unaware that the crime was happening. If they do that successfully, the court will dismiss your charges.

You Acted Under Duress

It is not uncommon for some people to commit serious crimes because they are forced or coerced by others to do so. Thus, you can use this as a defense strategy if you only aided the commission of an offense because you were under duress. It could be that another person or the actual perpetrator threatened you and had to support them for fear of your safety or the safety of your loved ones.

But, your attorney must convince the jury that you were under reasonable fear for your safety or the safety of your loved ones for the judge to dismiss your charges.

You Only Acted After the Crime

Your attorney can use this defense strategy if your only involvement in the crime was after its commission and not before. Remember that being an accessory before the fact means participating in the offense before its actual commission. If your participation were after the perpetrator committed the crime, you would not be guilty under this law.

Being an accessory after a crime is a separate offense. Thus, if you only assisted the perpetrator after they had already committed the crime, you can plead guilty to different charges to receive a lenient sentence.

Penalties for Being an Accessory Before The Fact

If you are guilty of being an accessory before the act, the judge will give you the same punishment as the actual offender for the underlying crime. For instance, if you helped or encouraged another person to commit murder, and they committed the offense in the first degree, you will be guilty and sentenced to a maximum of 25 years to life in prison, just the same as the actual offender. People who aid or abet others in committing robbery could receive up to fifteen years in prison if found guilty of being an accessory.

Being an Accessory After the Fact

Accessory to a crime after the fact is the closest crime to accessory before the fact under California laws. The two offenses are charged against individuals who aid others in committing crimes, whether before or after the crime. Knowing how the two are similar, how they differ, and their legal implications are essential.

You could face charges for being an accessory after a crime if you willingly and knowingly assist a person that has already committed an offense. This help or assistance is a severe crime in California under Penal Code 32.

Here are situations that could result in charges under this law:

  • Lying to the police about the whereabouts of a person that is facing criminal charges to protect them from an arrest

  • Driving the vehicle that robbers used to get away from the scene of a crime

  • Allowing a murder suspect to hide in your home even when you know that the police are looking for the suspect

  • Destroying crucial evidence to protect a loved one

  • Providing a false testimony to cover up the facts of a criminal case

Being an accessory after the fact is either a misdemeanor or felony, depending on your case's underlying offense and facts. It is also a less severe offense when compared to being an accessory to a crime before its commission. In most cases, being an accessory after the fact carries lenient penalties. But the judge has total discretion in determining the penalties you deserve based on your criminal history and the facts of your case.

But before the judge gives the verdict, the prosecutor must prove the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

  • That a person committed a felony offense

  • You knew or should have reasonably known that the person had committed a felony, was facing charges, or had a conviction for a felony offense.

  • But after the person committed the felony, you illegally aided them in a way that could have enabled them to escape justice.

  • You intended to help the perpetrator escape arrest, trial, or sentence.

Find an Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me

Are you facing charges for being an accessory before the fact in Los Angeles and are worrying about the legal implications?

You must be very confused and anxious, not knowing what the outcome of your case would be. But our experienced criminal attorneys at The LA Criminal Defense Law Firm can help you understand your charges and possible penalties after a conviction. We will also walk you through the legal process, guiding and advising you on the best strategies to win your case. We will prepare a solid defense against your charges and fight with you for a fair outcome of your situation. Call us at 310-935-1675 today for more information about this statute and our legal services.