All too often, individuals find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong "friends;" as a result, they find themselves charged as a criminal accomplice. The argument that you had no idea of what was going on may not stand - even if it's true - and you may be pulled into a criminal case under the theory of accomplice liability.
What the prosecution has to prove in a case like this is that the accomplice took part in the crime, wanted it to take place, and indicated this intention by his actions or participation. Many times, though, the aider or abettor can be found guilty of a different crime than the primary individual accused of the actual crime. The aider or abettor is charged with a more serious offence or a lesser one, depending on the circumstances and evidence available.
Many times the accused abettor to a crime will argue that even though he was present when a crime took place, he took no part in it, nor did he even know it was going to happen. This can still lead to serious consequences, since proving these assertions requires more than an honest face.
What can be even more shocking is that many individuals are charged as being part of crimes they didn't even witness. In this case, the mere fact of knowing that a crime was going to take place and providing the opportunity for it to happen can be enough to land an individual in serious trouble.
For example, let's say you had a friend who wanted to rob a liquor store and asked if he could borrow your car so he would be able to flee the scene quickly. You complied and gave him your car. You aided him in committing the crime, so you are now an abettor and subject to being charged as party to the offence. It doesn't matter whether or not the crime was discussed in detail beforehand. You knew the crime was going to be committed and you assisted in an indirect way.
Then again, there are examples when being present when an offence occurs will not get you in trouble, provided you had no knowledge that the crime was about to take place. For example, let's say an individual offered to drive you home from a party. You accepted. However, you did not know the vehicle with which he was taking you home was stolen. On your journey home, the driver was pulled over and charged with the offence. If there are no facts proving that you knew the car was stolen, you will not be convicted. It is not enough to find you guilty just because you happened to be in a stolen vehicle.
The moral of this story: watch the company you keep - don't get involved if something seems suspicious, because your indirect actions could still land you behind bars.
Michael Waddington is an expert court martial attorney defending military personnel worldwide. He defends all levels of court martial cases. He is a partner in the Augusta, Georgia, law firm of Gonzalez & Waddington. His worldwide practice focuses on military criminal court martial cases. http://www.ucmjdefense.com
