Also known as: acquired immune deficiency syndrome · HIV/AIDS · acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Assistance provided to another person in planning or committing a criminal offense. The assistance may take the form of physical aid, encouragement, or material support that facilitates the principal actor's conduct.
Albert Allen stood at the desk while Alexandra Armstrong forged the judge's signature on court documents. Allen cut and pasted official letterhead onto the papers at the exact moment Armstrong completed the forgery. Because Allen provided direct physical assistance while remaining at the scene, he qualifies as a principal in the second degree.
Adam Anderson directed Anika Anand to dump hazardous waste at an unpermitted site and supplied her with a map of back roads plus instructions for falsifying manifests. Anderson's actions supplied both the plan and the means for Anand to carry out the disposal over multiple weeks. The purposeful aid in planning and committing the offense makes Anderson an accomplice.
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Aaron Adams told Alan Ackerman days earlier that shortcuts on paperwork would go undetected if speed was needed. Adams remained away from the office when Ackerman forged the settlement order. The earlier encouragement without presence at the act classifies Adams as an accessory before the fact.
Avalon Pharmaceuticals supplied a terminally ill patient with a prescription that the patient later used in a suicide attempt. The company's knowing provision of the means directly facilitated the act. Liability attaches because the assistance caused the attempted suicide.
Alliance Holdings submitted detailed legislative history materials that revealed the rationale behind a filled-milk statute. The submission supplied concrete facts supporting the legislature's judgment. The materials aided the court in evaluating whether the regulation rested on a rational basis.
Apex Dynamics provided state-funded textbooks and equipment to religious schools under a program that also required recipients to affirm a government viewpoint. The aid extended beyond the funded program into the organization's independent speech. The condition linking the assistance to compelled affirmation raised First Amendment concerns.
A principal in the second degree must be present at the scene while providing aid. An accessory before the fact provides aid or encouragement but is absent when the crime occurs. Presence at the moment of the offense is the key dividing line under common law categories.
Supporting sources
Traditional common law requires actual physical presence at the scene. Electronic participation from a distant location does not meet the presence element even if it allows real-time commands. The defendant therefore remains an accessory before the fact rather than a principal in the second degree.
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A person becomes an accomplice by aiding or agreeing to aid another in planning or committing the offense with the purpose of promoting or facilitating it. Supplying maps, instructions, or credentials that enable the crime satisfies the aiding element. The purposeful mental state must accompany the assistance.
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…in this case, Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.36.060, provides: “(1) A person is guilty of promoting suicide when he knowingly causes or aids another person to attempt suicide. (2) Promoting suicide is a class C felony.” The plaintiffs assert that the statute violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. They…