Seeking Aid For An Aiding And Abetting Charge
Friends are great to have. When you are going through something rough in life, you can turn to your friends for help. However, there are times when you might wish your friends wouldn't turn to you for assistance. When friends commit a crime and involve you by telling you of the crime, it suddenly lands you in hot water. Aiding and abetting is a crime with varying consequences. If you find yourself facing an aiding and abetting charge, it is best to understand the charge, penalties, and best course of action to take.
Understanding Your Charge
Aiding and abetting is a charge that occurs when you are involved in the commission of a crime through certain acts, but you are not otherwise present when the crime takes place. For instance, you knew who committed the crime and what crime was committed either before or after it happened. Other ways to be an accessory to a crime is to provide advice, funds, or other forms of assistance to support the crime, such as housing the criminals afterward while knowing what they did.
If you know someone is planning to commit a crime or has already committed a crime, your best bet is to contact the police. It is, of course, hard to turn someone you care about, such as a friend or family member. However, you could find yourself in hot water if you do not turn the person in for the potential or already committed crime. As such, you could face aiding and abetting charges.
Understanding the Penalties
A person charged with aiding and abetting will usually face lesser penalties in comparison to the person who committed the crime. However, some states deem aiding and abetting just as serious as carrying out the crime itself. In other words, you could face some severe consequences depending on your state's laws.
It is possible to face aiding and abetting charges even if the person who committed the crime is not convicted. As a person who assisted in the commission of the crime, your punishments and outcome are separate from those who either committed or planned to commit the crime. As such, you will want to approach your situation in a unique manner.
Best Course of Action
The best way to handle an aiding and abetting charge is to hire a qualified criminal defense attorney. A lawyer can help you determine if there is a way to get the charges brought against you dropped. For instance, some states have a defense approach called abandonment and withdrawal. Abandonment and withdrawal occur when you made definitive actions to withdraw from the crime or the conspiracy of a crime.
As an example, your lawyer will likely try to defend you using abandonment and withdrawal if you actively tried to talk your friends or family members out of committing the crime. Actively trying to talk someone out of doing a crime and adamantly withdrawing your assistance to their crime could bring about a positive outcome for you.
Make sure you tell your lawyer if you made any attempts to withdraw from the crime. Your lawyer can help you determine if your actions might be considered abandonment and withdrawal. Keep in mind that failing to participate is not enough of an action to be considered abandonment and withdrawal. You must actively take steps to withdraw from the crime. If you made attempts to call the police and make them aware of the crime, that is another example of abandonment and withdrawal.
Contact a criminal attorney service near you for assistance with you aiding and abetting charges today. A competent lawyer can help ease the stress of your situation and assist you in facing lesser penalties or charges, or perhaps even get the charges against you dropped.