5 ms·

Sounds more like (gross) negligence as they weren't actually /trying/ to hurt someone, just didn't do what they should have to prevent it.

deleted 9y ago
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discodave 9y ago
Unintentionally killing somebody is manslaughter. I guess there is no such thing as 'attempted manslaughter', unlike murder. If somebody had died it could have been manslaughter.
- DannyBee 9y ago
  The law school answer is "there is no attempted manslaughter", but in some states, it really does exist due to statute. Example: https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/calcrim/500/603.html https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/calcrim/500/603.html
- briandear 9y ago
  There would have to be a reasonable expectation that one’s actions would cause death. Whether we think that their actions would reasonably cause death or not wouldn’t matter, what matters is what could be proven. There would have to be evidence that Uber knew that there was a “reasonable” chance of death. That’s would be a very tough bar to reach in a courtroom. A “chance” of death wouldn’t be good enough, but the “likeliness” of death. Under US law there is no real case. Even on the civil side, there wasn’t anybody injured and financial damages to the victim would be minimal, so it would be a case that would go nowhere.
briandear 9y ago
From a legal perspective, did anyone actually get hurt? What could of happened isn’t legally relevant. Negligence isn’t a crime, but a civil matter. I am not defending Uber, only clarifying the legal argument. Some people claiming attempted manslaughter clearly have no idea what they are talking about. Attempted murder would be what they really mean, but then there would have to be intent. What Uber did is negligence – a purely civil issue (at least under U.S. law.) Sometimes our outrage ventures into lynch mob territory when facts and the law actually don’t matter as much as assuaging our collective outrage. Did Uber break the law? No. Were they negligent? It seems so. Was there malice? Not based on the facts.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

discodave 9y ago

Unintentionally killing somebody is manslaughter. I guess there is no such thing as 'attempted manslaughter', unlike murder. If somebody had died it could have been manslaughter.

DannyBee 9y ago
The law school answer is "there is no attempted manslaughter", but in some states, it really does exist due to statute. Example: https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/calcrim/500/603.html https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/calcrim/500/603.html
briandear 9y ago
There would have to be a reasonable expectation that one’s actions would cause death. Whether we think that their actions would reasonably cause death or not wouldn’t matter, what matters is what could be proven. There would have to be evidence that Uber knew that there was a “reasonable” chance of death. That’s would be a very tough bar to reach in a courtroom. A “chance” of death wouldn’t be good enough, but the “likeliness” of death. Under US law there is no real case. Even on the civil side, there wasn’t anybody injured and financial damages to the victim would be minimal, so it would be a case that would go nowhere.

briandear 9y ago

From a legal perspective, did anyone actually get hurt? What could of happened isn’t legally relevant. Negligence isn’t a crime, but a civil matter. I am not defending Uber, only clarifying the legal argument. Some people claiming attempted manslaughter clearly have no idea what they are talking about. Attempted murder would be what they really mean, but then there would have to be intent. What Uber did is negligence – a purely civil issue (at least under U.S. law.) Sometimes our outrage ventures into lynch mob territory when facts and the law actually don’t matter as much as assuaging our collective outrage. Did Uber break the law? No. Were they negligent? It seems so. Was there malice? Not based on the facts.