You might think that a good Samaritan law (as made famous by Seinfeld and friends) would expose you in your state. That was a mythical application.
You would be no more exposed in the above example than if you had discovered Caylee's body but not reported it.
For those of you who care on this lovely Saturday afternoon, this is what must be met to give rise to criminal charges in the fact scenario mentioned before by PaddieAB:
OMISSIONS must meet 3 requirements:
1) Legal duty to act
2) Knowledge of facts giving rise to duty (or duty to learn facts)
3) Reasonably possible to perform
i. There are at least four situations where
failure to act may constitute a legal breach of duty (can be held criminally liable):
1) when a statute imposes a duty (driver involved in accident must stop at scene)
2)
When there’s a status relationship between the parties (
parent/child, husband/wife, master/servant, captain/crew, innkeeper/customer)
3) When there is a contractual duty of care for another (lifeguard or nurse)
4) When there is a voluntary assumption of care for another and subsequent seclusion of person to keep aid away. [Jones v. U.S. (1962)]
5) When a person creates a risk of harm (or peril) to another. (Caused the dangerous situation to arise, even if innocently done)
6) Duty to control the conduct of others (parent to child)
7) Duty of a landowner to care for invitees
Where person is under legal duty and victim dies, many times actor is guilty of involuntary manslaughter—sometimes murder.
In Caylee's case, the A family (in my opinion) would be under legal duty to act if Caylee was say, drowning in the pool.
The ONLY caveat of which I am aware is the "innocent bystander" who has no legal duty to report or come to the aid. The ordinary bystander, who has no previous involvement with the peril, has no duty to act.
But if you have no duty to act, yet take it upon yourself to aid, you assumed the duty!
I stand by my statement that in your fact scenario that we'd need to know the relationship between the parties.
At common law, failure to disclose information about a felony to proper authorities constituted a misdemeanor--Misprison of a felony. The federal misprison statute prohibits active concealment, but not simple disclosure, of a known felony.
Ta!
