Government

'Complicit' Is The Word Of The Year: But Is It The Lay Definition Or The Legal One?

Which definition of the word are people most interested in?

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According to Dictionary.com, “Complicit” is the word of the year. From NBC News:

Look-ups of the word increased nearly 300 percent over last year as “complicit” hit just about every hot button from politics to natural disasters, lexicographer Jane Solomon told The Associated Press ahead of Monday’s formal announcement of the site’s pick.

“This year a conversation that keeps on surfacing is what exactly it means to be complicit,” she said. “Complicit has sprung up in conversations about those who speak out against powerful figures in institutions, and those who stay silent.”

I bet I can tell you how 80% of the searches started:

Deplorable: I’m not racist, I just think we need to shake things up.
Non-White-Person: You voted for Trump, you are COMPLICIT in everything he does.
Deplorable: Nu-uh. [Quickly Googles Complicit]. Casting a vote doesn’t make you complicit.
Non-White-Person: I’m blocking you, I will not be COMPLICIT in your attempt to ruin this country.
Deplorable: That’s not even what complicit means, libtard.

Thing is: complicit is one of those words that has a clear legal definition, and a clear layperson definition, and who knows which definition the Trump voter thinks about to help them sleep at night.

I think, clearly, every Trump voter is complicit in the lay definition of the word:

complicit
adjective
1. choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, especially with others; having complicity.

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The common sense of the word does not require “illegal” activity. Merely questionable acts — such as voting for an racist misogynist con man — is enough to make the word stick.

But I have a feeling a lot of people are also interested in what legal complicity looks like. From the U.S. Legal Dictionary:

Complicity in criminal law refers to when someone is legally accountable, or liable for a criminal offense, based upon the behavior of another. Criminal complicity may arise in the following situations:

With the intent to promote or assist the commission of the offense:

1. a person procures, induces or causes such other person to commit the offense; or

2. a person aids or abets such other person in committing the offense; or

3. having a legal duty to prevent the commission of the offense, a person fails to make an effort he is legally required to make.

You see, people looking up complicit might not be looking for an adjective to describe somebody. They’re probably really interested in a different word altogether. A noun:

Accomplice

A person who knowingly, voluntarily, or intentionally gives assistance to another in (or in some cases fails to prevent another from) the commission of a crime. An accomplice is criminally liable to the same extent as the principal. An accomplice, unlike an accessory, is typically present when the crime is committed.

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The distinction between being “complicit” and being an “accomplice” is an important one. When the wheel comes back around, accomplices to the Trump administration will be punished. Those who were merely complicit will probably be spared. That’s what we did with the Nazis, that’s what we’ll probably do here.

‘Complicit’ is word of the year, according to Dictionary.com [NBC News]

Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.

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