Hypothetical Question

[Chemist45]

Not sure where to post this - I chose this forum because the answer bears on CHL holders.

If a person knows that a felony is about to be committed and tries to convince the perps not to do it, fails, then leaves the area is he an accessory?
He has left the area, has not aided in any way, but also has done nothing to stop it.
Is he an accessory to the felony?

[Teamless]

in the mind of a judge or jury, I would think Yes. As you were privy BEFORE the event happened and did not to escape the situation, or notify the police of the situation either.
IANAL, and this is only my opinion

[WildBill]

Based on my legal education of the last 10 minutes, I would say "No".

It appears that you have to actually observe the commission of a felony before you could be charged.

http://www.sagepub.com/lippmanstudy/sta ... _Texas.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


TEX PE. CODE ANN. § 38.171 : Texas Statutes - Section 38.171: FAILURE TO REPORT FELONY

(a) A person commits an offense if the person:

(1) observes the commission of a felony under circumstances in which a reasonable person would believe that an offense had been committed in which serious bodily injury or death may have resulted; and

(2) fails to immediately report the commission of the offense to a peace officer or law enforcement agency under circumstances in which:

(A) a reasonable person would believe that the commission of the offense had not been reported; and

(B) the person could immediately report the commission of the offense without placing himself or herself in danger of suffering serious bodily injury or death.

(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

[alexrex20]

in the mind of a judge or jury, I would think Yes. As you were privy BEFORE the event happened and did not to escape the situation, or notify the police of the situation either.
IANAL, and this is only my opinion

so that means the innocent patrons in a store being held up by armed robbers are accessory to the crime because they did nothing to stop it?

[Teamless]

accessory to the crime because they did nothing to stop it?

I never said they had to try to "stop it"

the question asked was

If a person knows that a felony is aboutto be committed

Not that they were there when it happened, or that they were the ones being accosted.

It could be that I read more into the context of the question as well,

But I read the question as saying something like
"I know John is going to go rob that bank in an hour and if I do nothing, am I an accessory"

I did not read it as
"I see John running into the bank with a gun" or "I am in the bank and I see John running in with a gun"

[fishfree]

in the mind of a judge or jury, I would think Yes. As you were privy BEFORE the event happened and did not to escape the situation, or notify the police of the situation either.
IANAL, and this is only my opinion

so that means the innocent patrons in a store being held up by armed robbers are accessory to the crime because they did nothing to stop it?

no they are witnesses.

I think the OP is implying that he had inside knowledge, maybe knew the perps or overheard their plans or heard from a third party etc.
In which case (from an earlier post) it would at most seem to be a misdemeanor not to report (and likely not even that if his knowledge was mere here-say). Regardless a good citizen should report to the proper authorities if he has info on a serious crime (felony level offense like burglary). If you were the proposed target of a felony (robbery, assault etc) would you not want someone to act to prevent it from occurring?

Most the time all these posts inviting us to play lawyer (disclaimed by IANAL ) really boil down to what's the right thing to do. A legal scholarly review is not needed so much as a good moral compass. But what do I know; IANAL.

[Chemist45]

For clarification, I did mean:
"I know John is going to go rob that bank in an hour and if I do nothing, am I an accessory?"

To put more detail on it - "I know John is going to go rob that bank in an hour and I tried to talk him out of it, am I an accessory?"
Let's add: John is big and strong and I have no chance of stopping him and if I call the police, he will know who ratted him out.

I repeat - this is a hypothetical situation. The result of me thinking up odd questions and not knowing the answer.

I appreciate the replies.

[stevie_d_64]

Counselor: "Your Honor, the state is leading the witness!!!"

Judge: "Sustained! You will re-phrase the question!"

DA: "Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?"

IANAL either...But I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night...

[bizarrenormality]

if I call the police, he will know who ratted him out.

It doesn't look like that matters in the law.

[Beiruty]

The one who is afraid from calling the police would not be charged. How many witnesses refuse to testify?!

[Carry-a-Kimber]

I would rather be labeled a "rat" by a felon than have blood on my hands if I did nothing and the heists goes south and someone gets killed.

[Beiruty]

For clarification, I did mean:
"I know John is going to go rob that bank in an hour and if I do nothing, am I an accessory?"

To put more detail on it - "I know John is going to go rob that bank in an hour and I tried to talk him out of it, am I an accessory?"
Let's add: John is big and strong and I have no chance of stopping him and if I call the police, he will know who ratted him out.

I repeat - this is a hypothetical situation. The result of me thinking up odd questions and not knowing the answer.

I appreciate the replies.

How do you know that the your friend is not telling fictitious story, a fantasy? Did you see him prepare his gears to commit his offense? Also, all the time, you can plea the fifth.

[GEM-Texas]

Not telling the law works if you are an assistant football coach in Pennsylvania.

[srothstein]

You have all looked at the wrong section of the law. Penal Code section 7.01 makes it clear that you would not be an accessory under the circumstances described. Well, besides not having accessory as a legal term in Texas, that is. Chapter 7 tells you about your criminal responsibility for the acts of another. It also says that if you are a party to the offense, you are equally guilty of the offense as if you had committed it yourself.

As a general rule, you would be required to take some action towards the crime yourself. The possible exception you are describing is in section 7.02(a)(3) as follows:

Sec. 7.02. CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONDUCT OF ANOTHER.
(a) A person is criminally responsible for an offense committed by the conduct of another if:
(1) acting with the kind of culpability required for the offense, he causes or aids an innocent or nonresponsible person to engage in conduct
prohibited by the definition of the offense;
(2) acting with intent to promote or assist the commission of the offense, he solicits, encourages, directs, aids, or attempts to aid the other
person to commit the offense; or
(3) having a legal duty to prevent commission of the offense and acting with intent to promote or assist its commission, he fails to make a
reasonable effort to prevent commission of the offense.

Since you have no legal duty to stop most felonies (child abuse being the exception that jumps to mind), you would not be a party to this offense.

As an aside, this is the law that was in the news a few months ago for a death penalty case. The getaway driver was sentenced to death for the murder that occurred when the robber went inside, even though he knew nothing about the details of the robbery or shooting.

[Chemist45]

Thanks srothstein, that answers my question.