Also known as: accessorial · accessoryship · accessory liability
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
3 senses
An individual who aids, abets, or encourages the commission of a felony but does not remain present at the scene when the crime occurs.
An individual who, after learning of the completed felony, knowingly assists the principal to avoid arrest, prosecution, or conviction.
An individual who aids, abets, or encourages the commission of a felony but does not remain present at the scene when the crime occurs.
An individual who, after learning of the completed felony, knowingly assists the principal to avoid arrest, prosecution, or conviction.
A subordinate item, interest, or use that is customarily incident to a principal obligation, security instrument, or land use and travels with it unless the parties agree otherwise.
A subordinate item, interest, or use that is customarily incident to a principal obligation, security instrument, or land use and travels with it unless the parties agree otherwise.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Alexis Archer met with a colleague at a tavern and supplied detailed instructions plus sample narratives for filing false insurance claims using real policy numbers. She then retired and moved away before the colleague submitted the claims. Because Alexis supplied the encouragement and blueprint days earlier while remaining absent from the actual filings, she qualifies as an accessory before the fact under common law.
Charles Carter mailed a detailed floor plan and alarm bypass instructions to a friend who later burglarized a warehouse. Because Charles supplied the encouragement and means while remaining absent from the scene, he is an accessory before the fact.
2 common questions
An accessory before the fact aids or encourages the crime but is not present at the scene. A principal in the second degree must both aid and be present, actually or constructively, when the crime occurs.
Supporting sources
Yes. Providing material assistance such as diagrams or tools that enable the felony satisfies the aiding or encouraging element even if the supplier remains absent from the scene.
Supporting sources
Angela Acosta learned that her friend had stolen tools from a construction site. After the theft, Angela arranged resale of the tools and concealed the paperwork to prevent investigators from tracing the items. Because Angela acted with knowledge of the completed felony and provided assistance aimed at helping the thief avoid detection, she is an accessory after the fact.
After learning her brother had committed arson, Barbara Baker drove him across state lines and helped him obtain false identification. Because Barbara knowingly provided aid to help the principal avoid detection and prosecution, she is liable as an accessory after the fact.
1 common questions
At common law a court could not convict an accessory unless the principal had already been convicted, though a joint trial permitted the jury to convict both if it first found the principal guilty.
Supporting sources
Alice Atkins obtained a zoning permit for a single-family home in a residential district. She later added a detached garage for personal vehicle storage. The garage qualified as an accessory use because it was customarily incident to the principal residential use and therefore permitted under the ordinance without separate approval.
The Village of Euclid is an Ohio municipal corporation that adjoins and is practically a suburb of the City of Cleveland. Its estimated population is between 5,000 and 10,000, and its area spans from twelve to fourteen square miles, with the greater part consisting of farm lands or unimproved acreage. It lies roughly in the form of a parallelogram measuring approximately three and one-half miles each way and is traversed east and west by three principal highways and two railroads. Ambler Realty Co. owns a tract of land containing 68 acres situated in the westerly end of the village. This tract abuts on Euclid Avenue to the south and the Nickel Plate railroad to the north. Adjoining this tract on both the east and the west, restricted residential plats have been laid out upon which residences have been erected. On November 13, 1922, the Village Council adopted an ordinance establishing a comprehensive zoning plan. The ordinance divides the village into six use districts denominated U-1 to U-6, three height districts denominated H-1 to H-3, and four area districts denominated A-1 to A-4. Appellee's tract is classified as U-2 for the first 620 feet north of Euclid Avenue, U-3 for the next 130 feet, and U-6 for the remainder. Enforcement of the ordinance is entrusted to the inspector of buildings under rules and regulations of the board of zoning appeals. The board holds public meetings, keeps minutes of its proceedings, and possesses authority to interpret the ordinance in cases of practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship, while penalties are prescribed for violations. Ambler Realty Co. filed suit alleging that the tract has been held for years for sale and development for industrial uses for which it is especially adapted. The bill further alleged that unrestricted market value is about $10,000 per acre but limited to residential purposes the value does not exceed $2,500 per acre, that the first 200 feet back from Euclid Avenue has a value of $150 per front foot if unrestricted but not in excess of $50 per front foot if limited to residential uses, and that the ordinance confiscates and destroys a great part of its value while deterring prospective buyers. The bill sought an injunction restraining enforcement of the ordinance. The district court overruled a motion to dismiss on the ground that the suit was premature. The district court held the ordinance unconstitutional and void and enjoined its enforcement.
View caseWhen Dana Dalton sold a promissory note secured by a recorded mortgage on Blackacre, the buyer automatically received the mortgage as well. Because the mortgage is accessory to the underlying obligation, it transferred with the debt absent any contrary agreement.
1 common questions
No. A mortgage is accessory to the debt it secures. When the obligation is declared void, the mortgage is extinguished and cannot be foreclosed.
Supporting sources
…less than sixty days nor more than one year or be both fined and imprisoned.” Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53-32 (1958). : The accessory statute provides: “Any person who assists, abets, counsels, causes, hires or commands another to commit any offense may be prosecuted and punished as if he were the principal offender.”…