Court: |
Wisconsin Court of Appeals |
|
Facts: |
Cornelier was boss of a fireworks plant ("Pyro Science Development
Corporation!") that went kablooey when an employee plugged in
an electrical fan. There were all sorts of safety code violations,
and Cornelier knew about them. |
|
Posture: |
No trial yet. Defendant petitions for relief because the criminal
complaint fails to state a cause of action: there's no reckless
"conduct" in which he engaged-- he just failed to act. |
|
Issue: |
Can a failure to do something be a kind of reckless conduct? |
|
Holding: |
Yes. Writ denied. |
|
Rule: |
The crime of reckless homicide can be committed by omission as well
as commission. |
|
Reasoning: |
A criminal complaint has to state a probable cause. Probable
cause isn't certitute: it's just more than a mere possibility,
established by the facts or reasonable inferences therefrom.
It's reasonable to assume that Cornelier knew of the risks.
Failing to act can establish reckless conduct. |
|
Dicta: |
Don't assume that just because case law says that X is an
ingredient in Z that it's safe to infer that Y is not
also an ingredient. |