The Fourth Department recently concluded that defendant's observation of the victim using heroin in the defendant's car, removal of the victim from his car, and leaving the victim on a lawn inside a trailer park did not merit criminal liability. Therefore, the court unanimously reversed the defendant's conviction of Criminally Negligent Homicide.
In People v. Erb (4th Dept., 2/11/2010), the defendant first met the victim on the day of her death. During that day, the defendant and the victim used cocaine. After driving the victim to a trailer park where the victim's mother lived, the defendant observed the victim injecting herself with heroin. The victim did not obtain the heroin from the defendant, nor did she obtain the heroin with his assistance. During the car ride, the victim lost consciousness, and the defendant was unable to wake her. Since the defendant did not know the address of the victim's mother, he left the victim on a lawn at the trailer park; at that time, the victim "was breathing and making noises[.]" Several hours later, the victim was found unconscious, and she died shortly thereafter at a hospital.
In its analysis, the court considered whether the defendant's "conduct constituted not only a failure to perceive a risk of death, but also some serious blameworthiness in the conduct that caused it." In concluding that the defendant's conduct did not merit criminal liability, the court noted that the defendant (1) did not obtain the heroin for or inject the heroin into the victim, (2) did not place the victim in a place that made it less likely that she would obtain medical assistance, and (3) did not otherwise directly cause or contribute to her death. Further, the court noted that the defendant did not owe a legally imposed duty to provide care for the victim. Accordingly, the court reversed the conviction. (JTR/LC)
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