R v Pittwood

R v Pittwood [1902] is a case in English criminal law as to omission, specifically the duty to act to save others from physical harm, finding an omission that amounted to manslaughter.[1][2]

R v Pittwood
CourtCrown Court / Assizes
Full case nameRegina v. Pittwood
Citation(s)[1902] TLR 37
Case opinions
Depending on the facts, such as the contract in this case, there is a duty to act in the criminal law to save others from physical harm, including in the law of manslaughter.
Court membership
Judge(s) sittingJury trial presided by Mr Justice Wright
Keywords
  • manslaughter
  • omission
  • failure in duty to act to save others from physical harm

Facts

Railroad gatekeeper, Pittwood, failed in his duty (by contract owed to his employer) to close a level crossing gate, leading to the death of a wagon driver after a train crashed into his horse and cart.[2]

Judgment

He was found guilty of manslaughter.[3]

Mr Justice Wright ruled that depending on the facts, such as the contract in this case, there is a duty to act in the criminal law to save others from physical harm, including in the law of manslaughter.[2]

gollark: Ah. You turned it *ou*. Turn it on instead.
gollark: I see.
gollark: You did turn it on, right?
gollark: It might just be the uo button.
gollark: Did you use one of the *reflection* ones? Don't do that. There are chirality issues.

References

  1. Halsbury's Laws of England, volume 25: "Circumstances", paragraph 6 (5th edition)
  2. Card, Cross and Jones: Criminal Law 16th Ed., Prof. Richard Card (ed.), Reed Elsevier (printed by CPI Bath, Bath, UK), 2004. at 2.10 (p. 60)
  3. Hails, F. G. (June 1966). "Manslaughter". Police Journal. 39 (6): 306.   via HeinOnline (subscription required)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.