Principals (criminal)
In criminal law, the term "principals" refers to individuals who are the primary actors in the commission of a crime. Traditionally, under common law, principals are distinguished from accessories, who assist in the crime either before or after it occurs. For instance, a principal may be the person who physically commits a robbery, while an accessory before the fact might supply weapons or a getaway vehicle, and an accessory after the fact could help conceal stolen property post-crime.
However, the significance of these distinctions has diminished in modern U.S. legal systems. Many statutes now allow for broader interpretations, where anyone involved in the criminal activity, including those who merely encourage or facilitate the crime, can be prosecuted as principals. This means that individuals who play a role in planning or facilitating a crime, even from a distance, may face the same legal consequences as those who execute the criminal act. Additionally, accomplices can be held accountable as principals even if the actual perpetrator has not been convicted, reflecting a shift towards a more inclusive understanding of criminal liability.
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Principals (criminal)
SIGNIFICANCE: The practical distinction between principals and accomplices and accessories to crimes has minimal significance in the modern U.S. justice system.
Under the common law, people who acted together to commit a crime were distinguished as either principals or accessories. Principals were the main actors who participated in an actual offense while accessories were people who aided the principal either before or after the commission of the offense. An example of this would be a principal who plans to rob a bank but who needs a vehicle and firearms to effectuate the robbery.
A person who supplies the principal with the firearms and the vehicle, knowing of and agreeing to the criminal purpose, would be an accessory before the fact under the common law. A person who met with the principal after the robbery in order to assist in the concealment of money and evidence would be an accessory after the fact. The principal is the person who actually commits the robbery or anyone who is actually or constructively present who aids in the commission of the robbery.
These distinctions have for the most part been rendered moot by modern statutes which generally provide that all persons who participate in a criminal venture may be prosecuted as principals. Thus, a person who advises or encourages another in the commission of an offense may be found guilty as a principal even if that person is too far away from the actual scene of the crime to aid in its actual commission. An example of this would be a person who sets up a sale of narcotics by introducing a seller and a buyer by way of a telephone call. Even if not present at the actual exchange, that person could be prosecuted as a principal under a statute prohibiting the distribution of narcotics. In some states, these secondary actors are prosecuted and punished as principals under conspiracy statutes.
Most modern statutes that abolish the practical distinctions between principals and accessories do so by stating that people are guilty of criminal offenses that they commit themselves or that are committed by the conduct of other persons for whom they are legally accountable. Such statutes define accomplices as a class of persons who are legally accountable for the conduct of others—that is, principals. Under such statutes, accomplices may be held liable as principals even if the primary actor has not been prosecuted or convicted. An accomplice may be charged as a principal if there is proof that the crime was committed and that the accomplice acted in furtherance of the crime. This is true even if the person who is claimed to have actually committed the offense is acquitted. Similarly, accomplices may be prosecuted as principals even if they would ordinarily be considered legally incapable of committing the offense.
Bibliography
Horder, Jeremy. Ashworth's Principles of Criminal Law, 9th ed. Oxford University Press, 2019.
"Principal in the First Degree." Cornell Law School, February 2024, www.law.cornell.edu/wex/principal‗in‗the‗first‗degree. Accessed 9 July 2024.
"Principal in the Second Degree." Cornell Law School, February 2024, www.law.cornell.edu/wex/principal‗in‗the‗second‗degree. Accessed 9 July 2024.