Also known as: principal in the first degree · principal in first degree · principals in first degree · first-degree principal · first degree principals
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A person who personally commits the act or omission that constitutes the criminal offense.
Perry Pratt cuts the brake lines on a city bus to cause a crash and shift blame to an unpopular driver. He performs the physical tampering himself at the depot with no one else present during the act. Under the common law categories, Perry is classified as a principal in the first degree because he personally carried out the criminal conduct.
Philip Powell forges a judge's signature on a settlement order inside his law firm office. He alone applies the pen to the document while others assist with preparations nearby. Philip qualifies as a principal in the first degree because he directly performs the act that completes the forgery offense.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Peter Park burns a rival's equipment shed on a farm at night. He personally sets the fire while a coworker waits in a truck at the property edge. Peter is the principal in the first degree because he alone executes the arson act, separate from any on-site aid or prior planning by others.
Portia Price enters a home and takes property by force during a robbery. She personally commits the taking while an accomplice remains outside. Portia is treated as a principal in the first degree under common law because her own conduct supplies the essential elements of the felony.
A principal in the first degree personally commits the criminal act or omission. A principal in the second degree aids or encourages the first-degree principal while present at the scene. The distinction turns on whether the defendant performs the core conduct or merely assists while present.
Supporting sources
The defendant must personally perform the act that constitutes the offense. An accessory before the fact aids or encourages but stays absent from the scene. Direct commission of the criminal conduct places the actor in the first-degree category regardless of prior planning by others.
Supporting sources
No. Advance planning or supply of instrumentalities makes the person an accessory before the fact if they are absent during the crime. Only the individual who personally executes the prohibited act meets the definition of principal in the first degree.
Supporting sources
No. Presence combined with aid makes a person a principal in the second degree. The first-degree category requires the defendant to commit the criminal act personally rather than merely assist at the scene.
Supporting sources
…Md. Code Ann., Art. 27, §§ 410, 412(b), 413(d)(10), 413(e)(1) (1982) (except in cases of murder for hire, only principal in the first degree subject to the death penalty). In addition, two jurisdictions already accounted for in n. 7, supra , also preclude the death penalty where the defendant did not commit the murder. Ill.…