Criminal Law

Natural and Probable Consequence

The natural and probable consequences doctrine allows for liability for offenses other than those known to the accomplice.

Under this doctrine, each person is responsible for everything done by his confederates which is the probable and natural consequence of the wrongful act specifically agreed on. The connection between the acts must be reasonably apparent. An unplanned act cannot be a fresh and independent product of the mind of one of the confederates outside of, or foreign to, the common design.

Many jurisdictions and the Model Penal Code reject the doctrine.