Xref: utzoo comp.admin.policy:469 misc.legal:26946
Newsgroups: comp.admin.policy,misc.legal
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!malgudi!osc.edu!karl.kleinpaste
From: karl.kleinpaste@osc.edu
Subject: Re: *Legal* obligation to report a crime
Message-ID: <1991Jun17.020154.9346@oar.net>
Sender: news@oar.net
Nntp-Posting-Host: ashley.osc.edu
Organization: Viento Gigabit Testbed, Ohio Supercomputer Center
References: <1991Jun14.180542.14481@m.cs.uiuc.edu>
Date: Mon, 17 Jun 1991 02:59:37 GMT
Lines: 16

karl.kleinpaste@osc.edu writes:
   >Anyone who witnesses a crime and does nothing to stop it is a party to
   >it.  In fact, screwed up though the USA legal system surely is, it
   >makes a lot of sense that certain crimes are defined in terms of the
   >failure _of_the_citizenry_ to report other crimes.

kadie@m.cs.uiuc.edu writes:
   In general, a citzen is under no legal obligation to report a crime.
   The only exceptions I can think of involve child abuse and doctors.

I did not say anything about the general case, and quite specifically
mentioned "certain crimes"; having spent several years as a foster
parent, child abuse was the primary example on my mind at the time of
that writing.

--karl