Jones was caring for Green's
baby. Jones failed to take care of the baby and it died. Jones was
arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter.
There was some debate as to
whether Green was paying Jones to care for the baby.
The Trial Court found Jones
guilty. She appealed.
Jones argued that in order
to be found guilty of a crime, the person must make an intentional act. In this case, Jones didn't act at all. She
only made an omission.
The Appellate Court reversed.
The Appellate court found
that there are four situations where the failure to act may constitute a
breach of legal duty:
Where a Statute imposes a duty
to care.
Where one stands in a
certain status relationship to another (like being a child's mother).
Where one has assumed a
contractual duty to care for another.
Where you have voluntarily
assumed the care of another and so secluded the helpless person as to
prevent others from rendering aid.
In this case, the Appellate
court found that the jury was not instructed that they must find beyond a
reasonable doubt that Jones had a legal duty to care.
The duty to care, must be a legal duty, and not just a moral
obligation. This is similar to the tort law concept of nonfeasance.
Model Penal Code §2.01(3) says that liability for omission only occurs
when "a duty to perform the omitted act is otherwise imposed by
law."
