Aiding and Abetting

If you’ve helped someone else in the commission of a crime or the cover up of a crime, you could be charged with a crime of your own: aiding and abetting. The severity of the charge will depend on the seriousness of the crime you encouraged or helped to conceal.

Each state has its own rules on what counts as aiding and abetting and what the penalties will be. Getting a sense of some of the general basics can help you start to understand your situation and begin planning your defense.

Regardless of what state you live in, you should hire an experienced criminal defense attorney to help you through the criminal process.

What Is Aiding and Abetting?

Aiding and abetting is its own criminal offense. It is one of the charges you could receive if you assist, encourage, or conceal someone else’s crime. It’s usually less severe than being tried as an accomplice or accessory, which requires more hands-on participation in a crime. It requires knowledge of the crime, criminal act, or criminal activity that forms the basis of your charge.

Aiding typically refers to actions that help the crime, like financing an element of the crime, while abetting often refers more to encouraging or instigating a crime. The words are frequently used interchangeably and are usually listed together as one type of crime, regardless of whether your actions were more assisting or encouraging in nature. To prove you’re either an aider or abettor, the prosecution will usually need to prove elements of aiding and abetting, which could include:

• Is someone else actually responsible for the crime?
• Did you act in any specific way to assist the crime?
• Did you purposefully help the other party commit their crime?
• Was your goal to make their crime successful?

If the answer to these questions is “yes,” you may be convicted for aiding and abetting. Criminal intent to help the crime or criminal venture is a key element in an aiding and abetting charge. If you can prove any help you provided was purely accidental, you may be able to avoid the conviction. It’s important to note that you don’t need to actually be there when the crime took place. If you knew about the crime before, during, or even after it happened, you could face a charge of aiding and abetting and be convicted of the crime of aiding and abetting.

The same principles of criminal procedure, criminal law, and trial procedure will apply.

What Kind of Punishment Can You Get for Aiding and Abetting?

Generally, the punishment for aiding and abetting is the same as the penalties for the criminal charges the principal offender faces. The severity of your penalty if convicted of aiding and abetting will depend on your state, but in general, more serious crimes will lead to harsher consequences for assisting the crime. For example, aiding and abetting in the commission of a misdemeanor will garner the same punishment as the misdemeanor. The consequences for aiding and abetting a felony crime will be the same as the consequences for a felony crime.

Building Your Criminal Defense for Aiding and Abetting

You surely want to avoid jail time, expensive financial penalties, and a criminal record. To accomplish this, you need to build a strong defense against your aiding and abetting charge. Knowing what to do and say when charged with this crime, even in its earliest stages, can mean the difference between a conviction and an acquittal.

One of the best ways to build a strong defense is to work with a criminal defense attorney who has experience in aiding and abetting charges. With their expertise, they may be able to guide and represent you for a better outcome in your trial.