W. C. BUSH, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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There is no such crime as attempted accessory after the fact under Florida law, as the act of attempting to aid a felon constitutes the completed crime itself.
The case involves a defendant charged with attempted accessory after the fact. The court reviewed prior case law to determine if such a crime exists.…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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DURANT, Jr., N. JOSEPH, Associate Judge.
We consider here whether or not under the laws of the State of Florida there is such a crime as attempted accessory after the fact.
A person is an accessory after the fact where he maintains, assists or gives an offender any aid, knowing that he committed a felony “with intent that he shall avoid or escape detection, arrest, trial or punishment.” Section 777.03, Florida Statutes (1975). In Henderson v. State, 55 So. 2d 110 (Fla.1951), our Supreme Court said that:
. for the purpose of a similar verdict the words “attempt” and “intent” were synonymous.
And, in the case of King v. State, 317 So. 2d 852 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975), the First District made the following pronouncement which is controlling in the case at bar:
If a crime is itself an attempt to do an act or accomplish a result, there can be no attempt to commit that crime.
It is apparent, therefore, than once an individual attempts to aid a fleeing felon for the purpose of accomplishing the result of helping him avoid detection, then he has actually completed the crime of accessory after the fact.
For the foregoing reasons, we specifically hold that there is no such crime as attempted accessory after the fact, and that the trial judge was correct in refusing to charge the jury on this non-existent crime.
The judgment and sentence rendered by the trial court are, therefore,
AFFIRMED.
ANSTEAD and CROSS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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Bowen v. State, 791 So. 2d 44 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)…ee also State v. Brown, 197 Neb. 131, 247 N.W. 2d 616 (1976); Lowe v. People, 135 Colo. 209, 309 P. 2d 601 (1957). On the other hand, the State need not prove that Ms. Bowen’s assistance was successful in allowing Carr to escape. Cf. Bush v. State, 359 So. 2d 556 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978) (holding that there is no crime of attempted accessory after the fact, because the crime itself is accomplished by an attempt or intent to aid). It is sufficient for the State to prove that Ms. Bowen committed some overt act inte…
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Schramm v. State, 374 So. 2d 1043 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)…the fact where he maintains, assists or gives an offender any aid, knowing that he committed a felony with the intent that he shall avoid or escape detection, arrest, trial, or punishment. Section 777.03, Florida Statutes (1977)1 and Bush v. State, 359 So. 2d 556 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978). There is ample evidence that Schramm helped Calvert with his flight to Atlanta. When Schramm was later called by an investigating officer, he denied knowing where Calvert might have gone. These facts conclusively established th…1 / 2
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Hestor v. State, 363 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978)…. 1 REVERSED AND REMANDED with directions to discharge. ANSTEAD and LETTS, JJ., concur. . Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.510. . Other cases in which it has been held that there is no such crime as attempt to commit the substantive crime charged: Bush v. State, 359 So. 2d 556 (4th DCA 1978) (attempted accessory after the fact); Silvestri v. State, 332 So. 2d 351 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976), approved 340 So. 2d 928 (Fla.1976) (attempted making a false report of a crime); King v. State, 317 So. 2d 852 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975), aff'd 33…
Authorities Cited
- King v. State, 317 So. 2d 852 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975)