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11Intent matters for most crimes. Once Joe learned about the murder, what was his intention in continuing to drive? Was it to help Larry avoid arrest? Or was it something else (to reach his destination, to avoid being harmed by Larry, etc)? See accessory after the fact.Nate Eldredge– Nate Eldredge2025-08-09 19:12:50 +00:00Commented Aug 9, 2025 at 19:12
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4Almost every crime has some level of intent as an element. So if we can't assume anything about Joe's intent, then we can't reach the conclusion that he's guilty of any crime, so your question has a trivial negative answer. Unless there are strict liability offenses that could apply, which I doubt.Nate Eldredge– Nate Eldredge2025-08-09 19:24:35 +00:00Commented Aug 9, 2025 at 19:24
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4Also, note that this would almost certainly be a matter of state law rather than federal. If there is a particular state you want to know about, please tag.Nate Eldredge– Nate Eldredge2025-08-09 20:25:39 +00:00Commented Aug 9, 2025 at 20:25
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1@T.E.D. That's the case in a lot of states. The general intent is to discourage people from assisting with a crime because they could be held responsible for anything anyone else in the group does, even if it was outside the original plan. In practice, it seems to me that it's often misused to apply extreme punishments to people who were barely involved.Darth Pseudonym– Darth Pseudonym2025-08-11 16:13:31 +00:00Commented Aug 11, 2025 at 16:13
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1Also probably get a charge for aidin' and a'bettin', of course.BruceWayne– BruceWayne2025-08-11 17:46:17 +00:00Commented Aug 11, 2025 at 17:46
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