Elements of Causing the Commission of a Crime.

• A. defendant caused the act to be done; act would be offense if performed by another; causation was intentional
• B. the crime must be committed by the defendant’s accomplice
• C. the defendant did not cause the act but aided by others
• D. the crime must be planned but not committed

Answer: (A)

Focus on intentional causation to a crime. To be liable for causing the commission of a crime, you must have caused the act to be done, the act would be illegal if performed by someone else, and your causation of that act must be intentional.

Think of it as procuring or instigating the offense: your conduct leads directly to the crime happening, you intended that result, and the charged act would be a crime even if another person carried it out. An example helps: you press someone to steal a car, and they do steal it; the theft is a crime regardless of who actually commits it, and your purpose was to bring about that theft. In that situation, you’ve caused the crime to be committed.

The other descriptions don’t fit because they describe different roles. Being an accomplice isn’t required—the crime can be caused by you even without an accomplice. Simply aiding or encouraging without causing the act doesn’t meet the “causing” element. Planning without the act doesn’t satisfy causing the crime to be done either. The key is the deliberate bringing about of the act itself.