What's it called when you know a crime is going on and ignore it?

Is there a law against not reporting a crime? Is there a case to be made against the NYT for holding this information for a year?

Actually, I believe "accessory" is the legal term.

Peace.

among others. Interesting question about the NYT's.

It has never been a part of our legal system that you are obligated to report people.

As a civil libertarian I dislike the idea that there should be any such obligation.

It amounts to deputizing the populace against their will.

If they can prove you actually enabled it, then you get charged with Accessory.
If you merely witness it, you are right - no crime.

Mere failure to report is not a crime. Though old detective movies and cop movies all show the cop threatening to charge someone just for failing to squeal, thats not the law.

I do assume if you heard a woman scream "RAPE!" outside your apartment, you would not just turn up the television? You WOULD phone the police?

I would hate to think you capable of that level of indifference for a principle. We have agreed in the past.

Misprison of Felony
In In re: Rafael Espinoza-Gonzalez, Int. Dec. 3402 (June 1999), the Board found "misprison of a felony" is not an offense relating to obstruction of justice. Pursuant to 18 USC § 4, misprison of a felony is defined as follows:

"Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civic or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 3 years or both."

Elements of the crime of misprison of a felony are that the principal committed and completed the felony alleged and that the defendant, having full knowledge of that fact, failed to notify that authority and took an affirmative step to conceal the crime. The BIA noted its decision in Matter of Batista-Hernandez where it held that a conviction under 18 USC § 3 (accessory after the fact) constitutes a conviction for an aggravated felony because that section criminalizes actions knowingly taken to "hinder or prevent apprehension, trial or punishment." The BIA distinguished the two decisions, finding the federal crime of accessory after the fact in 18 USC § 3 requires an affirmative action knowingly undertaken to hinder or prevent another's apprehension, trial or punishment, and noting that nothing in section 4 references the specific purpose for which the concealment must be undertaken.

The NYT, however, is not one. Just sayin...

Pelosi, Delay, Reid, and Frist. The rest of the members were not notified.

I was referring to the republican majority that rules the House these days. Hopefully not for long.

Lots of that going around these days.

Section 4. Misprision of felony

Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony
cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not
as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other
person in civil or military authority under the United States,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three
years, or both.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/casecode/uscodes/18/parts/i/chapters/1/sections/section_4.html

but of the human-race.

From Mirrium Webster dictionary:

der·e·lic·tion ('der-ə-`lik-shən)
n.

1.
1. An intentional abandonment
2. A state of being abandoned
2. A recession of water leaving permanently dry land
3. An intentional or conscious neglect (dereliction of duty)