Helping a loved one or a friend in trouble is only natural. There are no limits to the help you can offer to protect a loved one. However, these actions in particular situations could lead to criminal prosecution. It is a crime under PC 32 to knowingly harbor, conceal or aid a felon escape an arrest, trial punishment, or conviction. You will be accused of being an accessory after the fact, a PC 32 violation when you engage in any of the abovementioned activities. The offense could result in time behind bars. Call an experienced criminal defense attorney should you be accused of being an accessory after the fact for legal assistance.
Definition of Being an Accessory After the Fact Under PC 32
You are guilty of being an accessory after the fact when you aid an individual who committed an offense. Aiding could be accomplished by doing any of the following activities:
- Concealing the individual or material facts linked to the crime
- Hiding the offender or helping him/her escape arrest
- Providing finances to help the individual flee or remain in hiding
- Harbor, a known fugitive
- Providing a false alibi, or
- Driving a getaway vehicle
The above list is not exhaustive. Therefore, the DA will consider any activity you undertake that could be interpreted as helping an individual escape the consequences of committing an offense.
You could help your loved one or a friend with good intentions since you want to help them sort out their trouble. However, your actions, innocent or not, could land you in trouble under Penal Code 32 if a friend or loved one committed an offense.
Differences Between Being an Accessory After the Fact and Aiding and Abetting
Confusion arises between an accessory after the fact and aiding and abetting. For most, the two offenses are the same. However, under California law, the two are different.
Aiding and abetting is a crime under Penal Code 31. The law states that any individual who aids in committing an offense violates PC 31. You aid and abet a crime when you actively participate in its commission.
Unlike aiding and abetting, you violate PC 32 when you help someone who committed a crime, avoid arrest, prosecution, and possible time behind bars. Emphasis is on the help you offer after a crime is committed.
Elements of the Crime
Prosecutors bear the burden of proof. They should demonstrate to the jury that you committed the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Only then can you be found guilty.
Prosecutors will have to prove that:
- The individual you aided committed a felony or is facing felony charges
- You knew that the individual perpetrated was charged with or was convicted of a felony
- After engaging in the felony or being indicted on felony charges, you hid or aided the individual, and
- You hid or assisted the individual in avoiding arrest, trial, conviction, or punishment
Being an accessory after the fact can take various forms depending on the nature of the principal offense. The DA relies on several factors to determine whether you are criminally culpable. He/she will take into account:
- Whether you were at the scene of the incident
- Your relationship with the offender and the principal crime
- Your proximity to the crime scene
- The extent of your knowledge of the principal offense
Note: Refusing to testify in a criminal proceeding where the defendant is accused of committing a felony offense does not make you an accessory after the fact.
Strategic Defenses You Can Use in a PC 32 Violation Case
It is advisable to seek legal help from experienced criminal defense attorneys. Some of the defense strategies they could use in your defense include the following.
You Were Under Duress
When the principal crime’s offender threatens your life or that of your immediate family or loved ones for you to help him/her avoid arrest, trial, or conviction, your assistance will be under duress. Your attorney will demonstrate to the court that you were under pressure to help the offender for fear of losing your life or that of others.
For example, Charlotte hears a knock on her door, and she opens it only to find a gun pointed at her face by a gentleman demanding she hides him after fleeing from the police. Hiding him does not amount to being an accessory after the fact.
Lack of Knowledge of the Principal Crime
Prosecutors should prove that you knew of the offender's crime when you helped them escape or hide. If you were unaware that you were assisting an individual charged with a felony or committed a felony, your attorney would use this defense.
For example, an old friend reaches out saying he is looking for a place to stay following a fallout with his wife after a divorce. You then offer to house him until he is back on his feet. However, the real reason for his visit was to avoid arrest for an offense he committed.
Since you did not know his alleged offense, you are not guilty of a PC 32 violation.
You Were Mentally Incapacitated
Courts rely on the reasonable standard to evaluate whether a defendant understood his/her actions. The court seeks to answer, “What would a reasonable person do in the same situation the defendant was in?”
Note: mental incapacitation robs you of acting reasonably. Medication, drugs, alcohol, or mental illnesses impair your judgment. Further, a physical ailment could rob you of the ability to think and act rationally.
If this is your situation, your attorney will use the mental incapacitation defense to challenge the prosecution’s case. He/she will argue that you could not intentionally commit the offense.
For example, a friend comes banging on your door asking to hide in your house to avoid an arrest. You were high on drugs when you agreed to hide your friend. Drugs will impair your ability to comprehend the gravity of the situation rationally. Therefore, helping your friend does not mean you reasonably knew or rationally understood your actions.
You Were a Mere Bystander
Prosecutors must prove that you knowingly and intentionally aided, harbored, or helped another conceal a crime.
This defense applies when you were at the crime scene and refused to answer police officers’ questions concerning the principal offense. It is not a crime to avoid being involved in a crime.
Note: You are under no obligation to offer information to police officers. This information includes your personally identifiable information, details of the crime, or what you witnessed. You can respectfully decline to be interviewed even when asked to accompany the officers to the station. It is best to have legal representation for the question.
However, if subpoenaed to testify in a deposition or court, you are legally bound to appear and testify.
No Felony Occurred
PC 32 requires the principal offense to be a felony. Certain crimes are wobblers. If the offender is charged with a felony offense, you will be convicted as an accessory after the fact, given the prosecution proves the above mentioned elements of the crime.
If the principal is a misdemeanor offense and you knowingly helped the perpetrator of the crime, you will likely be charged with obstruction of justice and not as an accessory after the fact.
Penalties Following a Conviction for Being an Accessory After the Fact
A PC 32 violation is a wobbler. You can either face prosecution on misdemeanor or felony charges. Should you have a criminal history, you could face felony charges. Additionally, the facts of the case also inform the DA’s choice of whether to pursue misdemeanor or felony violation charges.
If charged and convicted of a misdemeanor violation, you will be sent to jail to serve a one-year sentence. Further, a judge could impose a fine of no more than $5,000. A judge could issue summary probation terms instead of a jail sentence.
Felony convictions, on the other hand, result in jail or prison sentences of up to three years and/or a fine not exceeding $5,000. Formal probation terms can be issued instead of a jail or prison sentence.
Expunging Your Conviction
Criminal records can deny you access to credit facilities, jobs, or housing. Expungement allows you to withdraw a no-contest plea or a guilty plea, reenter a not-guilty plea, and have your charges dismissed. Doing so releases you from the adverse consequences of a criminal conviction.
You can have your conviction expunged after completing your jail term or probation.
However, felons do not qualify for expungement. According to Penal Code 1203.4, anyone charged with a felony is not an expungement candidate.
Are there Offenses Related to Penal Code 32 Violations?
Prosecutors can either pursue after-the-fact charges singularly or include other charges. Alternatively, the DA could opt to drop PC 32 violation charges and seek a conviction for the following offenses. Their choice will be based on the circumstances of the case and what they can prove.
-
Aiding and Abetting, a PC 31 Violation
Encouraging, aiding, and facilitating the commission of a crime is an offense under PC 31. Aiding and abetting is also referred to as accomplice liability. California law established the accountability principle under PC 31 that holds individuals who facilitate, enable or aid another commit an offense to the same standard as the actual perpetrator.
The extent of your participation is not material in proving your guilt. Prosecutors need only present evidence proving your participation, no matter how insignificant. However, mere knowledge of the crime or your presence at the scene is not enough to prove your guilt.
Therefore, prosecutors should prove the following to secure your conviction guided by PC 31.
- You knew the perpetrator’s plans to commit a crime
- You intentionally encouraged and/or facilitated the plan
- You promoted, aided, or instigated the offense
Probably, you were only aware of the crime when it was underway. You will be criminally liable if you facilitated, encouraged, or promoted its occurrence when the crime was underway.
Note: Aiding and abetting is a legal principle. Prosecutors will not charge you for aiding and abetting but will use the principle to prove your criminal culpability for the underlying crime. Prosecutors, therefore, rely on:
- Your presence at the crime scene
- Your relationship with the perpetrator, and
- Your conduct before and after the crime to prove you are an aider and abettor.
It bears emphasizing that the three issues above are singularly insufficient to establish that you were aiding and abetting. They are all considered to demonstrate your actions as those an aider or abettor would take.
Consequences of Aiding and Abetting
Individuals accused of aiding and abetting will be treated as principles in the said crime. Therefore, he/she will receive the same penalties and consequences prescribed for the offense if the crime results in natural and probable outcomes.
-
Criminal Conspiracy, a PC 182 Violation
You commit a criminal conspiracy offense when you agree with others to commit a crime, and either you or another commits an act in furtherance of the agreement.
PC 182 defines the offense to have occurred in the following scenarios:
When two or more individuals conspire:
- To commit an offense,
- Maliciously and falsely indict another for an offense or procure another to be arrested or charged for the crime,
- Falsely move or maintain any action, suit, or proceedings,
- To defraud another of his/her property through criminal means, or obtaining property or money through false pretenses or promises with a fraudulent intent not to honor said promises
- To commit an act detrimental to the public’s morals, health, or to obstruct, pervert justice, or due operation of the law
- To commit a crime against the president, vice president, governor, judge or justice, or a secretary of an executive department in the United States
Note: Merely accompanying or associating with members of said conspiracy does not establish your guilt under PC 182. Further, you do not have to know the identity or roles of your co-conspirators. The jury is interested in whether you agreed to participate in the crime.
Penalties for Criminal Conspiracy
PC 182 violations are wobbler offenses. You can be either charged with a misdemeanor or a felony.
Criminal conspiracy becomes an automatic felony if the principal offense is a felony. Therefore, you will receive the punishment prescribed for the principal felony offense. If convicted of conspiring to commit more than one felony, you will face punishment for the felony with the most severe sentence.
-
Attempted Crimes, PC 664 Violations
You cannot claim innocence because your attempt at committing a crime failed. According to Penal Code 664, any attempt to commit a crime is a punishable offense.
The common question is, “Why punish an individual for a crime that was never actualized?”
PC 664 was enacted aiming to address the following issues.
- Deter others from attempting to break the law
- Bad luck should not be used as an excuse to avoid criminal liability
- Attempted crimes cause victims harm, which warrants punishment
Common crimes many have been prosecuted for attempting include murder, rape, and robbery. While the perpetrators were unsuccessful, the alleged victims did suffer distress even if the perpetrator failed to inflict physical harm or make away with the victim’s property.
Prosecutors will have to prove their case to secure your conviction. They must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you:
- Intended to commit a particular offense, and
- You took a direct step towards committing the offense. This means planning the crime, preparing for it, or thinking about it is insufficient to prove you took a direct effort. A direct step should show a definite intent to commit an offense and be an immediate action that puts your plans in motion.
Penalties for Attempted Crimes
All attempted offenses are punishable under PC 664 as violations of PC 664 and not the law criminalizing the target offense. For example, murder is punishable under PC 187. However, attempted murder is punishable under PC 664.
Attempted crimes are punishable by one-half of the time behind bars and/or a fine that would have been issued if the crime was complete. If the offense is punishable by life imprisonment or death, a conviction for attempting the particular offense will result in nine years in prison.
If a defendant is accused of attempted murder and the prosecution proves his/her actions were deliberate and willful, the defendant could be sentenced to life in prison.
When faced with criminal prosecutions, it is best to contact a criminal defense attorney immediately.
Contact an Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me
You need an aggressive criminal defense attorney to challenge the DA’s case against you. An experienced attorney is pivotal in the outcome of your case. The LA Criminal Defense Law Firm team has vast experience in criminal defense, particularly accessory after the fact charges. Rely on us to put up an aggressive strategy to secure the best legal outcome. Contact our team at 310-935-1675 for a free case evaluation.
