CRIMINAL LAWS

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Criminal Law

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Felony of Negligence

This law is one of the needful laws in the current society. Felony child abuse encompasses the abuse or assault of any child. When a child is negligently, recklessly, intentionally, or knowingly injured by an act or omission by any person, then that person can be charged with felony child abuse. Even if the charge could be considered a misdemeanor family violence charge, most states will allow a higher charge of felony child abuse (or injury to a child) to be filed because of a general policy interest to protect children.

A person can be charged with felony child abuse when he is involved in an injury to a child. To support a felony child abuse charge, law enforcement must develop some evidence of an appropriate mental state. Mental state refers to a person's intentions or thought processes which lead to the eventual injury of a child. The level of a felony child abuse charge will increase as the mental state increases. For example, if a person is charged with only negligent acts, he will usually be charged with a lower level felony, as opposed to a defendant who intentionally tries to hurt a child. The different mental states used in a felony child abuse charge are: negligence, recklessness, knowingly, or intentionally.

Felony child abuse charges from omissions only apply to a parent or another person who has taken over the parenting or caretaking function, like a nanny or babysitter. Because of extreme parenting punishment techniques involving the deprivation of food or water, parents have been charged with causing injuries to their children by failing to provide adequate nourishment. Others have been charged for failing to obtain proper medical treatment for their child, even when the denial of treatment is based on religious beliefs. Some states build religious exceptions into their abuse statutes. Other defenses turn on the injuries and the intent of the defendant.

Felony child abuse statutes are extremely broad and cover a wide range of activities. Fortunately, many states also build in additional defenses that are not usually available in a generic assault family violence context. For example, in Texas, if a defendant can show that the injury was the result of reasonable discipline, then a defendant is allowed to submit an affirmative defense. If a parent spanked his child with a belt and left minimal red marks after the spanking, he will probably be able to beat a felony child abuse charge. The main focus is the reasonableness of the discipline. A head-to-toe spanking with a metal studded belt that lasted for an extensive period of time will not qualify as reasonable.

A second defensive theory involves challenging the nature or extent of injuries. Essentially, the argument is that the injury is so minimal that it really does not constitute an injury. For example, if a defendant spanked the child one time with a belt and no marks were left, the challenge is not just the parenting defense, but also the minimal nature of the ...