Iowa Code » Chapter 703 — PARTIES TO CRIME
Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 703.3 (2026)

Accessory after the fact

✓ current as of July 2026
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Any person having knowledge that a public offense has been committed and that a certain person committed it, and who does not stand in the relation of husband or wife to the person who committed the offense, who harbors, aids, or conceals the person who committed the offense, with the intent to prevent the apprehension of the person who committed the offense, commits the following:

1. A class “D” felony if the public offense was a violation of section 707.2, 707.3, or 707.3A.

2. An aggravated misdemeanor if the public offense committed was a felony not included in subsection 1.

3. A simple misdemeanor if the public offense was a misdemeanor. [C51, §2929; R60, §4669; C73, §4315; C97, §5300; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §12896; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, §688.2; C79, 81, §703.3; 81 Acts, ch 204, §1] 2024 Acts, ch 1076, §1 Referred to in §714.27A, 717A.3A \n

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1979–2026 · leading case: State v. Sanders, 280 N.W.2d 375 (Iowa 1979).
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State v. Sanders, 280 N.W.2d 375 (Iowa 1979). · cites it 6× “Defendant contends that under the evidence the trial court should have submitted as an included offense the crime which is provided by section 703.3(1) of the Code: Any person having knowledge that a felony has been committed, and who does not stand in the relation of husband or…”
State v. Sanders, 312 N.W.2d 534 (Iowa 1981). · cites it 4× “Being an accessory after the fact is a separate crime defined in section 703.3(1), The Code. We have held it is not an included offense of the crime of robbery.”
State v. Countryman, 572 N.W.2d 553 (Iowa 1997). · cites it 2× “In her second challenge to the jury instructions, Darla claims the district court erred in refusing to submit her proposed instructions defining an accessory after the fact under Iowa Code section 703.3. Her goal in these proposed instructions was to inform the jury that spouses…”
Gannon v. Bd. of Regents, 692 N.W.2d 31 (Iowa 2005). · cites it 2× “Iowa Code §§ 703.3 (“with the intent to prevent”), 718.”
Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Bd. v. Marc R. Engelmann, 840 N.W.2d 156 (Iowa 2013). · cites it 2× “Iowa Code §§ 703.3 , 720.1, 719.3. All three of these crimes are aggravated misdemeanors under Iowa law.”
State of Iowa v. Charles Smith (Iowa Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 4× “Following a bench trial on the minutes, Charles Smith appeals his conviction for accessory after the fact, in violation of Iowa Code section 703.3 (2017). He asserts the evidence was insufficient to prove he “harbor[ed], aid[ed], or conceal[ed] the person who committed the…”
State of Iowa v. Jaycie Sheeder (Iowa Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 2× “2, and accessory after the 4 fact in violation of Iowa Code section 703.3. Her proceedings were severed from Stendrup’s, and trial was held in May 2019.”
State of Iowa v. Julia Ann Cox (Iowa Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 2× “14(1)(b) (2020), and accessory after the fact, in violation of Iowa Code section 703.3. Cox’s plea admitted her involvement in “hid[ing] a human corpse with the intent to conceal a crime (murder)” committed by Vogel, “with the intent to prevent the apprenhension of .”
State of Iowa v. Roy Lee Garner (Iowa Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 2× “14(1)(b) (2020); accessory after the fact, in violation of section 703.3; and obstruction of prosecution or defense, in violation of section 719.”
State of Iowa v. Martinez Angelo Brimmer (Iowa Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 2× “4 See Iowa Code § 703.3 (2023). The jury instructions defined “intent” to mean “not only being aware of doing an act and doing it voluntarily, but in addition, doing it with a specific purpose in mind.”
— Iowa Code § 703.3(1) — 2 cases
State v. Sanders, 280 N.W.2d 375 (Iowa 1979). “Defendant contends that under the evidence the trial court should have submitted as an included offense the crime which is provided by section 703.3(1) of the Code: Any person having knowledge that a felony has been committed, and who does not stand in the relation of husband or…”
State v. Sanders, 312 N.W.2d 534 (Iowa 1981). “Being an accessory after the fact is a separate crime defined in section 703.3(1), The Code. We have held it is not an included offense of the crime of robbery.”
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