Del. C. » Title 11 — Delaware Criminal Code · CHAPTER 2. General Provisions Concerning Offenses · Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Delaware Code

11 Del. C. § 272 (2026)

Liability for the conduct of another — No defense

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In any prosecution for an offense in which the criminal liability of the accused is based upon the conduct of another person pursuant to § 271 of this title, it is no defense that:

(1) The other person is not guilty of the offense in question because of irresponsibility or other legal incapacity or exemption, or because of unawareness of the criminal nature of the conduct in question or of the accused’s criminal purpose, or because of other factors precluding the mental state required for the commission of the offense; or

(2) The other person has not been prosecuted for or convicted of any offense based on the conduct in question, or has previously been acquitted thereof, or has been convicted of a different offense or in a different degree, or has legal immunity from prosecution for the conduct in question; or

(3) The offense in question, as defined, can be committed only by a particular class of persons, and the defendant, not belonging to that class, is for that reason legally incapable of committing the offense in an individual capacity, unless imposing liability on the defendant is inconsistent with the purpose of the provision establishing the defendant’s incapacity.

11 Del. C. 1953, §  272;  58 Del. Laws, c. 497, §  1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1; 
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case, 1976–1976 · leading case: Pendry v. State, 367 A.2d 627 (Del. 1976).
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Pendry v. State, 367 A.2d 627 (Del. 1976). “275 (1931); but these cases, setting forth the common law rule of accomplice liability, are made inapplicable in Delaware by 11 Del.C. § 272, which “denies a defense in situations in which the old common law, for purely technical raasons, would have been forced to grant an…”
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