All federal charges under the Seamen’s Manslaughter Act arising from the fatal duck boat incident on Table Rock Lake have been dismissed for lack of admiralty jurisdiction. The Government has appealed. The gCaptain forum twice attempted to block me from creating a new thread for this topic, and to…

Not invoking magic, has to do with the wording of the statute. From Wikipedia Unlike common law manslaughter , which requires a mens rea or mental state of gross negligence or heat of passion in absence of malice, this statute requires only simple negligence — a breach of duty to perform an act o…

It WAS the SMS. Clearly not applicable as the court held. State law however, still has a conceivable path to conviction Missouri Involuntary Manslaughter Law The applicable mens rea Preliminary Provisions of the Missouri Criminal Code But perhaps I’m misunderstanding. Are we speculating as to th…

I’m not saying the state doesn’t have a path. The point I was making is, leaving aside for a moment the facts of the case, getting a criminal conviction in the state courts is going to be more difficult and therefore less likely.

To get a conviction in state court the prosecution must prove gross negligence. To prove gross negligence the prosecutor is going to have to prove that the duck boat operator was reckless. Obviously, that more difficult.

Perhaps the chances of getting a criminal convection is the reason the federal prosecutors decided it was worthwhile giving the federal courts a try in the first place even knowing about past rulings with regards to jurisdiction.

MO. 5. A person “acts with criminal negligence” or is criminally negligent when he or she fails to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that circumstances exist or a result will follow, and such failure constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care which a reasonable person wou…

Once again, the captain is the lone target although he was operating under the direction of a manager who had better access to weather reports. The fact that admiralty law doesn’t apply will deny the vessel’s owners the limited liability protection from civil suits. Unfortunately for claimants the o…

[image] Lee_Shore: the captain is the lone target That doesn’t appear to be the case. From the Maritime Executive article; Judge Rush’s recommendation also covers charges against two Ride the Ducks Branson managers who were on duty at the time of the casualty. Also, again from Wikipedia: …

[image] Lee_Shore: Once again, the captain is the lone target although he was operating under the direction of a manager who had better access to weather reports. The fact that admiralty law doesn’t apply will deny the vessel’s owners the limited liability protection from civil suits. Unfortunat…

Thanks, speedread right past that in the article.Still, those guys don’t have any money to provide compensation.

Seamen’s Manslaughter Charges Dismissed

Professional Mariner Forum

Kennebec_Captain January 3, 2021, 2:51pm 40

The history of the Steamboat Act is worth looking into.

Topic		Replies	Views
Captain of Deadly Missouri Duck Boat Charged in Federal Court Professional Mariner Forum	40	3050	November 14, 2018
Seaman's Manslaughter Act Professional Mariner Forum	54	5269	January 20, 2021
Obviously, nobody should be suprised at this Admiralty Law	39	9431	January 6, 2017
The FBI is aboard the DALI this morning Marine Incidents	102	6491	May 12, 2024
Criminalisation of Seafarers Marine Incidents	40	7861	April 23, 2017

Seamen’s Manslaughter Charges Dismissed

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