NCJ Number
80772
Date Published
1980
Length
338 pages
Annotation
The law of criminal complicity is discussed both in common law and as modified by legislation in England, the Australian jurisdictions, and in New Zealand, with some reference to Canadian decisions.
Abstract
In the criminal law, complicity denotes partnership in crime. The doctrine of criminal complicity consists in the corpus of principle which governs the joint implication of each of two or more persons in a given crime. This study's primary emphasis is on the statement and evaluation of the law relating to criminal participation as an accessory, although the principal in the crime is considered in some detail. The discussion of substantive law relating to accomplices includes consideration of the differences between complicity and cognate doctrines in criminal law, the common law stucture of parties and its legislative modification in the subject jurisdictions, and the substantive and procedural reasons for distinguishing the traditional categories of criminal participation. Also examined are the mental and physical ingredients of accessoryship, the application of the principles of accessorial liability in certain standard situations, and the defenses available to accessories. Under procedural law, attention is given to certain idiosyncratic common law rules relating to the indictment and conviction of criminal parties in some circumstances and the present rules governing the form of the charge where accessories are concerned in the respective jurisdictions. An overall view on reform in criminal complicity law is presented. Extensive footnotes accompany each section; a subject index is provided. (Author summary modified)