What is an “accessory after the fact” in Nevada?

Posted on March 30, 2015

Nevada law recognizes two types of parties to a criminal offense:

Principals, who are the people who actually commit a crime, and
Accessories after the fact (or “accessories”), who are people who hide, aid, or otherwise help principals avoid arrest, trial, conviction, or punishment for the crime

In sum, accessories after the fact assist principals in escaping prosecution or sentencing for a past offense. Typical examples of accessory behavior include:

concealing a principal
throwing out evidence of a crime
helping fugitives run away
telling lies to the police

Note that people are not considered accessories under Nevada law if they are related to the principal as a spouse, sibling, parent, grandparent, child, or grandchild. Also note that no accessories exist in misdemeanor cases…only felonies and gross misdemeanors can have accessories in Nevada.

Common defenses to Nevada accessory charges include that the defendant acted under duress, was merely a bystander mistaken as an accessory, or lacked any knowledge of the principal’s crime. The punishment for acting as an accessory to a felony crime includes:

1 -- 5 years in Nevada State Prison, and
maybe up to $10,000 in fines

The punishment for acting as an accessory to a gross misdemeanor carries:

30 days -- 6 months in jail, and/or
$100 -- $500 in fines

Being an accessory is different from being a conspirator. Whereas conspiracies consist of two or more people who agree to commit a crime, accessories act after the crime is committed and without having to agree with anyone. Read more information about the Nevada crime of being an accessory after the fact.

About the Author

Neil Shouse

A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, Court TV, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.