Legal Definitions - counsel and procure

The legal term counsel and procure refers to the act of actively encouraging, advising, or enabling another person to commit a crime. It means that an individual can be held legally responsible for a crime even if they did not directly carry out the criminal act themselves, but instead played a significant role in its planning, instigation, or facilitation.

This concept encompasses two main aspects:

• Counsel: Providing advice, encouragement, or instruction that persuades or helps someone decide to commit a crime.
• Procure: Obtaining, supplying, or making available the means, tools, or opportunities necessary for someone to commit a crime.

Essentially, someone who "counsels and procures" a crime is seen as an accomplice or an accessory before the fact, sharing responsibility for the offense.

Examples:

• Example 1: Advising a Theft

  Sarah learns that her neighbor, Tom, is planning to steal a valuable antique from a local museum. Instead of dissuading him, Sarah provides Tom with detailed information about the museum's security system, including the blind spots of the cameras and the schedule of the night guards. She even suggests a specific tool to bypass a lock.

  How it illustrates the term: Sarah counseled Tom by giving him specific advice and encouragement that directly aided his plan to commit the theft. Even though she didn't physically enter the museum, her guidance made her legally responsible for the crime.

• Example 2: Providing Tools for a Robbery

  Mark's friend, Lisa, tells him she intends to rob a convenience store. Mark, knowing Lisa's intentions, lends her his car for a quick getaway and provides her with a ski mask and gloves, which he knows she will use during the robbery.

  How it illustrates the term: Mark procured the means (the car, ski mask, and gloves) for Lisa to carry out the robbery. By supplying these items with knowledge of her criminal intent, he enabled the commission of the crime.

• Example 3: Instigating Fraud

  An executive, David, wants to inflate his company's quarterly earnings. He instructs his junior accountant, Emily, to create false invoices and manipulate financial records to show higher profits, providing her with specific figures and methods to obscure the fraud from auditors.

  How it illustrates the term: David both counseled and procured. He counseled Emily by instructing and encouraging her to commit the fraud, and he procured the means by giving her the specific false figures and methods needed to execute the fraudulent accounting entries.