What Does it Mean to Be an “Accessory” to a Crime?

In Florida, a  person can be convicted as an “accessory” to a crime if they knowingly aid another person in committing a felony or if they help the person after the crime with the intent to shield the known felon from arrest, detention, trial, or punishment. However, certain members of the felon’s family are exempt from prosecution under Florida law. (See below – “Who’s Immune?”)  

 

The law can be confusing to a person who is not experienced in applying legal terminology to various circumstances. Similar but distinct legal concepts include conspirators, aiders and abettors, and accomplices. Each term refers to a slightly different level of culpability but they are often incorrectly used interchangeably.  

 

At Stechschulte Nell, Attorneys at Law in Tampa, we take pride in explaining the significance of applicable legal concepts and terminology to our clients. No person charged with a criminal offense should be unclear about how the law affects their case. 

 

If you are charged with any criminal offense in Hillsborough County or Pinellas County, the experienced criminal defense lawyers at Stechschulte Nell want to represent you with an effective defense that will best resolve your case with a favorable outcome. 

 

 

Accessory Does Not Have to Be Present When the Crime Was Committed? 

 

The law is intended to dissuade people from helping others commit crimes and aiding them in avoiding or escaping prosecution and punishment. An older term used in the common law over the centuries was called “misprision of a felony.” The offense was committed when one person knew about another’s planned crime and failed to disclose it or found out about it after the fact and either failed to report it or assisted in concealing the crime. 

 

But the common law was replaced when the Florida legislature enacted F.S. § 777.03. The new statute clarified not only what acts constitute the offense but also limited who could be charged with being an accessory. 

 

Someone who is an accessory to a crime can be criminally prosecuted for that offense even if they were not present at the crime scene when the offender committed it.  

 

For example, let’s assume a jewelry store clerk shares the combination to the safe with a friend they know will break in and steal its contents. The clerk may not be sharing in the loot, and may not even know precisely when the theft would occur. But because they gave the thief something central to the crime’s success and knew what would happen, the clerk can be prosecuted as an “accessory before the fact.” 

 

Now let’s look at the same example after the thief committed the break-in and stole the valuables in the jewelry store safe. When the police investigate the crime, they ask the clerk if he knows who committed the theft. The clerk not only knows who committed the crime, he knows where the thief is hiding out. The clerk repeatedly tells the officers he has no idea who could have done it. When the police name the thief and ask the clerk if he knows where they can find him, the clerk again claims he knows nothing.  

 

Because the jewelry store clerk misled the police about important information that he knew would help the thief escape capture, he can now be prosecuted as an “accessory after the fact.” 

 

Who Is Immune From Prosecution as an Accessory in Florida? 

 

Our Florida law regarding who can be charged as an accessory to a crime excludes the offender’s close family members. The statute specifically requires that people who are in this family group may not be prosecuted: 

 

• Husband or wife of the offender, 
• Parents or grandparents of the offender, 
• Children or grandchildren of the offender,  
• Brothers or sisters of the offender. 

 

This applies to blood relatives and relatives by marriage, meaning parents-law, sons and daughters-in-law, and brothers and sisters-in-law are all covered by the statutory immunity. 

 

In a 1996 case, a defendant argued that he was included in this protected class of relatives who were immune from prosecution as accessories. The court rejected the argument because the statute expressly names those immune relationships, and “cousin” is not among them.

 

Why Exclude Family Members from Prosecution as Accessories? 

 

If it strikes you as odd that close family members would be excluded from prosecution for the crime of being an accessory, you’re not alone. But family members are often exempt from certain legal rules that apply to others. 

 

The state government decided that it was in the interest of society to encourage family members to trust each other and honor their blood bonds. The idea is rooted in the belief that a family is a valuable social institution that provides far more social benefits to the community than the general public would receive from forcing a person to “rat out” their immediate family member.  

 

Similar protections are extended to a spouse who may be barred from testifying against their husband or wife in certain cases. Why? Because the state wants to strengthen the marital bond of truthfulness, trust, and comfort.  

 

This same principle underlies the privilege of confidentiality the law recognizes between an attorney and a client, or a priest and someone confessing to them in private. These are relationships the law encourages for the operation of the legal system and for the spiritual health of community members. 

 

Defending an “Accessory to a Crime” Charge 

 

Criminal prosecutions against an “accessory to the crime” are relatively rare because most cases involve evidence showing a suspect was more involved in the crime than merely as an accessory, or because there is too little evidence to bring an accessory charge. 

 

With additional evidence showing the suspect was more closely involved in the crime, the prosecution can usually charge the suspect as a coconspirator, a crime that often carries the same punishment as the principal actor. And if the government has insufficient evidence to prove an alleged accessory to a crime knew of the crime, either before or after the fact, no accessory charge will be sustained. 

 

Tampa Criminal Defense  

 

If you are under investigation for being an accessory to a crime, it is important to get legal help as soon as possible. Complex legal challenges require experienced criminal defense. Call our attorneys at Stechschulte Nell Law for skilled defense.