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People v. Abott
New Youk Supreme Court (1981)
Defendant: Abott and Moon; the defendants were involved in a drag race on a public highway. They were well over the speed limit and both drove in extremely reckless manner. Eventually Abott struck another car killing the driver and two passengers. Both of the defendants were convicted of three counts of criminally negligent homicide. Now Moon makes the argument that he can not be held liable for aiding Abott in committing a crime and he should not be held liable for Abott's actions.
Issue: Can the defendant be held liable for contributing to the reclkess actions of his codefendant?
Holding: Yes
Legal Reasoning: The court used Section 20.00 of Penal Law which states that "when a person engages in conduct which constitutes an offense, another person is criminally liable for such conduct when ,acting with the mental culpability required for the commission thereof, he....intentionally aids such a person to engage in such conduct." The court held that Moon contributed to the reckless conduct of Abott by himself acting recklessly. So the convictions were affirmed.