We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
WiseGeek

Advertiser Disclosure

Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

How We Make Money

We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently from our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Finance

What is an Accessory After the Fact?

Tricia Christensen
By
Updated Feb 02, 2024
Our promise to you
WiseGeek is dedicated to creating trustworthy, high-quality content that always prioritizes transparency, integrity, and inclusivity above all else. Our ensure that our content creation and review process includes rigorous fact-checking, evidence-based, and continual updates to ensure accuracy and reliability.

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

Editorial Standards

At WiseGeek, we are committed to creating content that you can trust. Our editorial process is designed to ensure that every piece of content we publish is accurate, reliable, and informative.

Our team of experienced writers and editors follows a strict set of guidelines to ensure the highest quality content. We conduct thorough research, fact-check all information, and rely on credible sources to back up our claims. Our content is reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy and clarity.

We believe in transparency and maintain editorial independence from our advertisers. Our team does not receive direct compensation from advertisers, allowing us to create unbiased content that prioritizes your interests.

"Accessory after the fact" is a legal term that can be used to charge people who knowingly help a person who has committed a crime. Being charged with this crime may mean facing charges similar to the crime was that was committed by someone. For example, helping a murderer after he has committed a crime could make someone an accessory to murder, even if that person had nothing to do with the crime.

One of the reasons this charge exists, and it may be differently named or perceived differently in a variety of jurisdictions, is to discourage people from giving aid to those who commit crimes. There are a number of ways to get charged with accessory after the fact. A person could give a criminal money so he could escape the law, hide information about a crime so that the criminal is not charged, hide the actual criminal or in some way harbor and shelter him or her so that the person committing the crime avoids arrest and prosecution.

An important thing is needed for a prosecutor to win an accessory after the fact case, and sometimes it’s not obtainable. It must be proven the person facing this charge knew a crime had occurred. That isn’t always the case. If Mr. Smith picks up a hitchhiker and drops him off down the road without realizing the hitchhiker had just robbed an ATM machine, it would hard to make a case that Mr. Smith is an accessory. He had no knowledge of the crime.

More grey area occurs when family members are charged with accessory after the fact. It’s possible that in sheltering or giving aid to someone who is a criminal, a person does absolutely no wrong in the eyes of the law. It all hinges on whether the person aided or sheltered confesses to the crime or whether the family member has some knowledge of it outside of a confession. This is a difficult thing for many people because strong protective feelings often exist toward family, especially adult children, and many people want to help their family members avoid prosecution.

Ultimately, the cost is often too great for a family member to become an accessory after the fact. It could mean being charged and sentenced to serve in jail for about half of the time the person who committed the crime will serve.

WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Tricia Christensen
By Tricia Christensen , Writer
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a WiseGeek contributor, Tricia Christensen is based in Northern California and brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her writing. Her wide-ranging interests include reading, writing, medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion, all of which she incorporates into her informative articles. Tricia is currently working on her first novel.
See our Editorial Process Share Feedback

Discussion Comments

By Cageybird — On May 27, 2014

I suppose allowing a drunk person to sleep it off in a spare room wouldn't be considered being an accessory after the fact, but not reporting a possible felony DUI after the fact might be problematic. I'd probably have to take a good look at my friend's car and maybe call the local police just to make sure he or she wasn't suspected of felony drunk driving or anything. I couldn't deny knowing his or her inebriated condition, but I wouldn't necessary know what he or she did on the way to my house.

By Buster29 — On May 27, 2014

I've heard of law enforcement officers using the "accessory after the fact" statute as leverage against family members or friends of the suspect. It's usually in the person's best interest to tell what he or she knows rather than keep protecting the suspect. That must be really hard on parents or spouses, since they don't want to be the ones who ratted out their loved one to the police.

I'm not entirely sure how the prosecution could prove that a person knew a crime had been committed at the time the aid was rendered. If I'm a mechanic and a car comes in with front end damage, I don't know if I need to ask the driver if he or she had done something illegal. I wouldn't want to be charged with being an accessory after the fact if I made the repairs necessary to help that person elude the police.

Tricia Christensen

Tricia Christensen

Writer

With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a WiseGeek contributor, Tricia...
Learn more
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.