Negligence a key to involuntary manslaughter

URGENT ALERT! This case was TOSSED by the Judge - never made it to trial.
☛ ER http://eurekareporter.com/article/080826-judge-throws-out-douglas-zanotti-case
Feeney said the indictments the grand jury handed down to Douglas and Zanotti in December 2007 weren’t supported by probable cause. Insufficient evidence regarding the former leaders’ alleged failure to oversee other law enforcement was also presented to the grand jury, Feeney said, and instructions given on “exigent circumstances” were inadequate.
The grand jury should have also been instructed on justifiable homicide by law enforcement officials, Feeney said.
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Original post: Negligence a key to involuntary manslaughter

Several experts interviewed about the Cheri Lyn Moore case and the indictments being handed up by the grand jury have remarked on just how unusual it is.

In particular, the officers directly involved in Moore's shooting are not being charged. The commanders who ordered the tactical operation are the ones being indicted for involuntary manslaughter. That's the unlawful killing of someone during a crime, or a legal act that leads to a death -- but one that is done negligently.

Peter Keane, a professor of law and dean emeritus at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco, who has served as a legal analyst for CNN, the BBC and MSNBC, said it's clear the grand jury felt the commanders' decision was a negligent one.

”It seems clear the grand jury that indicted, and the district attorney that presided over it, feel the decision to enter the house was a faulty decision -- a wrong decision -- a negligent decision,” Keane said. “There must be some evidence from which the grand jury was able to determine the decision itself was a flawed one, and flawed to the extent of being negligent, and something a reasonable person would have known was going to result in death.”

The California Penal Code defines involuntary manslaughter as: “The unlawful killing of a human being in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony; or the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner, or without due caution and circumspection.”

Involuntary manslaughter is punishable by imprisonment in state prison for two, three or four years.

It differs from voluntary manslaughter. Voluntary manslaughter is killing intentionally, but without malice or premeditation. Generally that is a killing in the heat of the moment.

The 2007 Criminal Jury Instructions from the Judicial Council of California shows that to convict, the jury must find that the defendant:

* Committed a crime that posed a high risk of death or great bodily injury because of the way in which it was committed; or committed a lawful act, with criminal negligence.

And:

* The defendant's acts caused the death of another person.

Criminal negligence involves more than ordinary carelessness, inattention or mistake in judgment. It's when:

* The defendant acts in a reckless way that creates a high risk of death or great bodily injury.

And:

* A reasonable person would have known that acting in that way would create such a risk.

While Keane described negligence as “someone engaging in conduct that a reasonable person would not engage in,” he said the process of determining exactly what constitutes negligence varies greatly on a case-by-case basis.

”You can't really generalize,” he said. “You have to look collectively at the particular series of facts in each case.”

Times-Standard John Driscoll and Thadeus Greenson
Article Launched: 12/06/2007 01:27:31 AM PST