Criminal Law 1 Notes: Article 20. Accessories who are exempt from criminal liability

Article 20. Accessories who are exempt from criminal liability.

The penalties prescribed for accessories shall not be imposed upon those who are such with respect to their spouses, ascendants, descendants, legitimate, natural, and adopted brothers and sisters, or relatives by affinity within the same degrees, with the single exemption of accessories falling within the provisions of paragraph 1 of the next preceding article.

Explanations:

An accessory is exempt from criminal liability when the principal is his:

1. Spouse;
2. Ascendant;
3. Descendant;
4. Legitimate, natural or adopted brother, sister or relative by affinity within the same degree.

Exemption: Nephew or niece

"With the single exemption of accessories falling within the provisions of paragraph 1 of the next preceding article" -  

Even if the principal is his spouse, ascendant, descendant, relative by affinity within the same degree, accessory is criminally liable if he has performed any acts under Paragraph 1, Article 19:

1. By profiting themselves or
2. By assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the crime.

Reason: acts are prompted not by affection but by a detestable greed.

Accessory under par 2 and 3 of Art. 19 are exempt from criminal liability is they are related to the principals:

Article 19:

xxx

2. By concealing or destroying the body of the crime or the effects or instruments thereof, in order to prevent its discovery;
3. By harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the principal of the crime, provided that the accessory acts with the abuse of his public functions or whenever the author of the crime is guilty with treason, parricide, murder, or an attempt to take the life of the Chief Executive, or is known to be habitually guilty of some other crime.

Reason: the accessory did not profit or assist the offender to profit by the effects of the crime.

Questions:

1. Suppose a husband conceals the property stolen by his wife in order to profit from it later, is he liable as accessory?
2. Suppose A, who committed parricide by killing his wife, went to his adopter brother to hide in the latter's house and his adopted brother hid A because he gave his adopted brother P 1,000.00, is the adopted brother an accessory? Is he criminally liable?
3. Suppose X is a public officer who, with evident abuse of his office, furnished the means of escape to his brother who had committed murder criminally liable as accessory?

Answers:

1. Yes, it would seem that he may be held liable as accessory, because his said act is prompted not by affection but by a detestable greed. In that case, his purpose in concealing the stolen property is not to prevent the discovery of the crime.
2. The adopted brother is an accessory, because knowing that A committed parricide, he harbored and concealed him. But he is not criminally liable, because he did not profit by the effects of the crime. The P1,000.00 received by him from A was not the effect of the crime of parricide.
3. No. The public officer does not incur any criminal liability. Ties of blood or relationship constitutes a more powerful incentive than the call of duty. Furthermore, Article 20 does not grant the benefits of exemption only to accessories who profited or helped the offender profit by the effects of the crime. This is only the case where the accessory who is related to the offender incurs criminal liability.

Read More

Criminal Law 1 Notes: Article 19 Accessories

Article 19. Accessories.

Accessories are those who, having knowledge of the commission of the crime, and without having participated therein, either as principals or accomplices, take part subsequent to its commission in any of the following manners:

1.    By profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the crime.

2.    By concealing or destroying the body of the crime or the effects or instruments thereof, in order to prevent its discovery;

3.    By harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the principal of the crime, provided that the accessory acts with the abuse of his public functions or whenever the author of the crime is guilty with treason, parricide, murder, or an attempt to take the life of the Chief Executive, or is known to be habitually guilty of some other crime.

Phrases:

"Having knowledge" - accessory must have knowledge of the commission of the crime, and he took part subsequent to its commission. Otherwise he is not liable.

"Commission of the crime" - the crime committed by the principal must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

"Without having participated therein either as principals or accomplices." - accessory should NOT be in conspiracy with the principal or participated as accomplices.

"Take part subsequent to its commission" - Accessory takes part AFTER the crime has been committed.

Note:

Mere possession of stolen property does not make the accused an accessory where the thief is already convicted. But if there has been no one convicted as the thief, the possessor should be prosecuted as principal of the crime of theft.

Suspicion - being the imagination of the existence of something without proof, or upon very slight evidence, or upon no evidence at all.

Specific Acts of Accessories:

1.    By profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the crime. Any crime must be committed by the principal except a light felony.

a.    By profiting themselves by the effects of the crime.

Accessory should not take the property without the consent of the principal, otherwise he is a principal in the crime of theft.

When is profiting by the effects of the crime punished as the act of principal, and not the act of accessory? When a person knowingly acquired or received property taken by the brigands (Art. 307)

b.    Assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the crime.

Accessory After the Fact. An accessory after the fact is someone who, knowing that a felon has finished committing a crime (usually the crime has to be a felony), helps the felon avoid arrest or trial.

2.    By concealing or destroying the body of the crime to prevent its discovery. Any crime except L.F. committed by the principal.

Corpus delicti or body of the crime. Specific offense was in fact committed by someone. Not necessary the body of the victim.

There must be an attempt to hide the body of the crime.

Example:

a.    Those who assist in the burial of the victim;

b.    Furnishing the means to make it appear that the deceased was armed when in fact the victim was already dead.

3.    By harboring, concealing or assisting in the escape of the principal of the crime.

2 Classes of Accessories:

a.    Public officers with abuse of public functions.

Requisites:

1.    The accessory is a public officer;

2.    He harbors, conceals, assists in the escape of the principal

3.    That he acts with abuse of his public functions.

4.    The crime committed by the principal is any crime, not LF.

b.    Private persons:

Requisites:

1.    Accessory is a private person;

2.    He harbors, conceals or assists in the escape of the principal;

3.    Crime committed by the principal is either:

a.    Treason

b.    Parricide

c.    Murder

d.    Attempt against the life of the president

e.    That the principal is known to be habitually guilty of some other crime

Notes:

Mayor who refused to prosecute offender is Accessory.

One kept silent with regard to the crime he witnessed is not an accessory.

Q. May the Accessory be tried and declared guilty ahead of the principal?

A. As a rule the answer is no because of the principle that the liability of the Accessory is Subordinate to that of the Principal. There must first be a person convicted as a principal before there can be an accessory.

B. However, the accessory maybe prosecuted ahead of the principal even if the principal has not yet been identified or arrested or has surrendered  if: First;  the act of the accessory is under either paragraph (a) or (b)  or Second; even under paragraph C if the principal has not yet been placed under the jurisdiction of the authorities.

C. Once the principal is later tried but the case against the accessory has not yet been terminated, the trial against the accessory must be suspended to await the out come of the trial against the principal. However the two cases maybe consolidated and tried jointly, if proper.

Pasted from <http://www.batasnatin.com/law-library/criminal-law/general-provisions/1051-persons-criminally-liable.html>

Q. If the principal is acquitted, should the accessory be also acquitted?

A. If the principal was acquitted by reason of a justifying circumstance, then the accessory must also be acquitted.

B. If the principal was acquitted due to an exempting circumstance, the accessory may still be convicted.     

C. If the ground is that the guilt was not proven beyond reasonable doubt, the accessory may still be convicted if his acts fall under either paragraph (a) or (b)

Pasted from <http://www.batasnatin.com/law-library/criminal-law/general-provisions/1051-persons-criminally-liable.html>

Q. If the principal dies, may the accessory still be prosecuted?

A. Yes, if the act is under either paragraph (a) or (b)

B. But if his act falls under paragraph ( c) there are two views on the matter. The first view holds that he cannot be prosecuted for in legal contemplation there was no principal whom he assisted. The second view holds that the accessory may still be prosecuted because the death merely extinguished the liability of the principal but the crime remains and the participation of the accessory in it may still be proved.

Pasted from <http://www.batasnatin.com/law-library/criminal-law/general-provisions/1051-persons-criminally-liable.html>

Read More

Criminal Law 1 Notes: Article 18 Accomplices

Article 18. Accomplices.

Accomplices are the persons who, not being included in the Article 17, cooperate in the execution of the offense by previous or simultaneous acts

Quasi Collective Criminal Responsibility. Some of the offenders in the crime are principals and others are accomplices.

Accomplices	Conspirators
Know and agree with the criminal design	Know and agree with the criminal design
Know the criminal intention after the principals have reached the decision	Decide to commit the offense
Instruments who perform acts not essential to the perpetration of offense	Authors of a crime
Assent to the plan and cooperate in its accomplishment	Decide that a crime should be committed

When is a person considered as an accomplice?

1.    community of design, which means that the accomplice knows of, and concurs with, the criminal design of the principal by direct participation; and

2.    the performance by the accomplice of previous or simultaneous acts that are not indispensable to the commission of the crime.

How can an accomplice acquires knowledge of the criminal design of the principal?

1.    When the principal informs or tells the accomplice of the former's criminal purpose.

2.    When the accomplice saw the criminal acts of the principal

Accomplice	Principal by direct participation
Does not take direct part and does not force or induce others to commit the crime	Took direct part in the commission of the crime, force or induce others to commit the crime
	Principal by cooperation
Cooperation not indispensable	Cooperation is indispensable
	Principal by direct participation
Community of criminal design	Community of criminal design
Between principals and accomplices, no conspiracy	Between/among principals, there is conspiracy
No clear cut distinction between the acts of the accomplice and  of the principal by D.P. in case of doubt, it shall be resolved resolved in favor of lesser responsibility

Read More

Criminal Law 1 Notes: Article 17 Principals

Article 17. Principals.

1.    Those who take direct part in the execution of the act.

2.    Those who directly force or induce others to commit it.

3.    Those who cooperate in the commission of the offense by another act without which it would not have been accomplished.

1. Direct Participation	2. By force or inducement	3. By cooperation
Ex. B kills C in C's island	A induce B to kill C	D owns a motor boat that could take the culprit to C's island, and knows A's and B's plan to kill C
One who personally takes part in the execution of the act: shoot, kill, burn, hack, drown, etc. "personally took part in its execution." - principal by direct participation must be at the scene of the commission of the crime, personally taking part in its execution.  - Although not presence in the crime, he is equally liable as a principal by direct participation. Example: on serving as a look out while the crime was going on.	2 ways of becoming principal by induction: 1.    By directly forcing another to commit a crime; a.    By using irresistible force; b.    By causing uncontrollable fear 2.    By directly inducing another to commit a crime. a.    By giving price, reward, promise 1.    Offers RWP - P by Inducement 2.    Receiver - P by DP b.    By using words of command 1.    Commands - P by Inducement 2.    Acts on the command - P by DP ·         Requisites: 1.    Inducement be made directly with the intention of procuring the commission of the crime 2.    One who made the command must have ascendancy or influence over the person who acted. 3.    Words used must be direct, efficacious, so powerful as to amount to physical or moral coercion 4.    Words of command must be uttered prior to the commission of the crime. 5.    Material executor of the crime has no personal reason to commit the crime	Requisites: 1.    Participation in the criminal resolution, that is, there is anterior conspiracy or unity of criminal purpose and intention immediately before the commission of the crime charged; 2.    Cooperation in the commission of the offense by performing another act, without which the crime would not have been accomplished. "cooperation in the commission of the offense." - to desire or wish in common a thing. But that common will or purpose.
2 or more principals by DP: 1.    They participated in the criminal resolution (conspiracy) 2.    They carried out their plan and personally took part in its execution by acts which directly tended to the same end	Notes: Thoughtless expression is not an inducement to kill.	Notes: If the cooperation is indispensable, he is liable as a principal by indispensable cooperation. If the cooperation is not indispensable, he is liable as an accomplice

Collective Criminal responsibility. All the conspirators are liable as co-principals.

Individual Criminal responsibility. Absence of previous conspiracy, unit of criminal purpose and intention immediately before the commission of the crime, or community of criminal design, the criminal responsibility arising from different acts directed against one and the same person is considered as individual, and each of the participant is liable only for the act committed by him.

Conspiracy.

Conspiracy exists when two or more person come to an agreement concerning the commission of the felony and decide to commit it.

How conspiracy is established:

·         Proven by overt act and beyond reasonable doubt

·         Mere knowledge or approval is insufficient

·         Not necessary that there be formal agreement

·         Implied conspiracy. Where the accused had a common purpose and were united in execution.

·         Unity of purpose and intention;

·         Spontaneous agreement at the moment of the commission of the crime

·         Active cooperation by all the offenders in the perpetration of the crime

·         Contribution by positive acts to the realization of a common criminal intent

·         Presence during the commission of the crime by a band and lending moral support thereto.

·         While conspiracy may be implied from the circumstances attending the commission of the crime, it is nevertheless a rule that conspiracy must be established by positive and conclusive evidence.

Notes:

·         Conspirator is not liable for the crimes of the others which are not the object of the conspiracy nor are logical or necessary consequences thereof

·         No conspiracy to commit an offense through negligence. However, special laws may make one a co-principal.

·         Conspiracy is negated by the co-acquittal of co-defendant.

Read More