U.S. v. Martinez, 52 M.J. 22

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Crimes: Article 118 - Murder Pre-2019 offenses

1. the negligence necessary for conviction of involuntary manslaughter requires a legal duty, and military law recognizes a duty on the part of a parent to provide medical assistance to his or her child; although appellant was not the biological father of his wife’s child, there was ample evidence in the record to find that appellant, under the circumstances of this case, had a parental duty as co-head of household to provide medical assistance to this child
2. members could find that appellant’s reliance on a suspected child abuser’s assurances was an unreasonable response to his duty to provide medical care to this child, and thus sufficient for offense of voluntary manslaughter, where: (1) appellant knew baby had been repeatedly bruised while in mother’s care; (2) appellant suspected his wife of abusing child; (3) evidence of recent physical battery was readily observable in appellant’s home; and, (4) the child’s body was severely bruised when he died, and appellant observed numerous bruises on the child’s body the week before the child died
3. evidence of culpable negligence, specifically the requirement for culpable disregard for the foreseeable consequences to others, to support a finding of involuntary manslaughter was legally sufficient where the evidence showed: (1) the victim in this case would have displayed a number of symptoms which would not reasonably support conclusion that victim merely suffered from flu; (2) appellant was fully aware that victim sustained repeated assaults while in the mother’s care and had suggested medical treatment; and, (3) expert testimony indicated that most recent bruising was pronounced in appearance and might suggest intentional battering to even a layman