Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Pinkerton liability is when someone can be held responsible for a crime that someone else in their group committed. This can happen if the person was part of the group planning the crime, if the crime was part of the plan, and if the person could have known that the crime might happen.
Pinkerton liability is a legal term that means a person can be held responsible for crimes committed by their co-conspirators. This can happen if the person was involved in the conspiracy and the crime was part of the plan.
For example, if two people plan to rob a bank together and one of them shoots a security guard during the robbery, both people can be charged with the shooting. Even if the person who didn't shoot didn't know the other person was going to shoot, they can still be held responsible because it was part of the plan to rob the bank.
Another example is if a group of people plan to sell drugs together and one of them sells drugs to an undercover police officer, all of the people involved in the plan can be charged with selling drugs to the officer.
Pinkerton liability is important because it helps hold people accountable for their actions, even if they didn't directly commit the crime.