Caylee's Law
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Caylee's Law is the unofficial name for bills proposed or passed in several U.S. states that make it a
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
for a parent or
legal guardian A legal guardian is a person who has been appointed by a court or otherwise has the legal authority (and the corresponding duty) to make decisions relevant to the personal and property interests of another person who is deemed incompetent, call ...
to fail to report a missing child, in cases where the parent knew or should have known that the child was possibly in
danger Danger is a lack of safety and may refer to: Places * Danger Cave, an archaeological site in Utah * Danger Island, Great Chagos Bank, Indian Ocean * Danger Island, alternate name of Pukapuka Atoll in the Cook Islands, Pacific Ocean * Danger Isla ...
. The first such bill was introduced shortly after the high-profile
Casey Anthony trial Caylee Marie Anthony (August 9, 2005 – June-December 2008) was an American girl who lived in Orlando, Florida, with her mother, Casey Marie Anthony (born March 19, 1986), and her maternal grandparents, George and Cindy Anthony. On July 1 ...
, due to Anthony not reporting her three-year-old daughter Caylee Marie Anthony missing for a period of 31 days.


History

The idea for the bill originated with protesters who disagreed with the jury's verdict in the case. Anthony was found not guilty of first degree murder, aggravated
child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...
, and aggravated
manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...
of a child on July 5, 2011. Immediately after the trial, support appeared for imposing requirements on parents to notify law enforcement of the death or disappearance of a child and make a parent or guardian's failure to report their child missing a felony. One petition, written by Michelle Crowder on Change.org, has gained nearly 1.3 million electronic signatures. In response to this and other petitions, lawmakers of
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
,
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
,
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
and
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
began drafting versions of "Caylee's Law".


Legal status


Notable cases

In South Dakota, two people were charged with failure to report the death of two-year-old Rielee Lovell under the new law. The defense attorney for Laurie Cournoyer claimed that the law violated his client's right against
self-incrimination In criminal law, self-incrimination is the act of exposing oneself generally, by making a statement, "to an accusation or charge of crime; to involve oneself or another ersonin a criminal prosecution or the danger thereof". (Self-incrimination ...
, saying "essentially what the state has done is criminalized a citizen's right to remain silent."


Opposition

Critics and opponents of Caylee's Law state various reasons for their opposition. Some critics say the law is unconstitutional in that it violates the
5th Amendment Fifth Amendment may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights, which protects against the abuse of government authority in legal proceedings *Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of India, 1955 amendme ...
. Critics also claim the law will mostly harm innocent parents. The laws as proposed do not distinguish the cause or place of death, therefore even parents whose children die in the hospital due to sudden illnesses are still required to report the death to the local police within the law's time frame or face felony charges in addition to the sudden tragic loss of their child. One critic noted the law could lead to overcompliance and false reports by parents wary of becoming suspects, wasting police resources and leading to legitimate abductions going uninvestigated during the critical first few hours. Additionally innocent people could get snared in the law, for example, if the parents first begin searching for a child instead of immediately calling police, or if parents who are overcome by emotional shock and grief fail to report a child's unexpected death in a hospital. Moreover, critics note that the law isn't likely to affect a parent who murders a child either intentionally or in a fit of anger or rage, since the law will not make it more likely that such parent would report the death within the given time limit. Critics argue that the law is a waste of time and resources, because the law would bog down police with investigations and prosecutions of parents who innocently fail to report within the time limits and with non-emergency reports from parents fearful of prosecution, while those parents that the law is intended to punish will be unaffected by the law because they are no more likely to make a report than they would be without the law and their failure to report is protected by the fifth amendment to the U.S. Constitution.Peter Finocchiaro
Is “Caylee’s Law” a bad idea?
Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...
”, July 8, 2011.


References

{{Reflist, 2 Proposed laws of the United States State law in the United States New Jersey statutes