You! Be the Judge
Manslaughter on the Ski Hill

Ryan and his buddy Eddy quickly got their skis out of the minivan.

"Be careful, kids," Ryan's mom warned. "There are a lot of maniacs on the hills these days."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "I'm 19 and an expert skier, Mom. I know what I'm doing."

Ryan and Eddy went straight for the chair lift.

"If your mom only knew that YOU'RE the biggest maniac!" Eddy grinned.

Ryan huffed. "Hey, I like speed but I'm always in control. Let's hit the black diamond runs and work our way up to the Death Defier."

The kids stormed down their favorite runs.

"The conditions are unbelievable," Eddy cried in joy.

"Time for the Death Defier." Ryan's eyes narrowed playfully.

They took the chair up again and headed for the hill's toughest run.

"Whoah!!" Eddy said. "Look at these monster moguls!"

Eddy shushed down the hill.

Then Ryan took off. "Aye Carumba!!" Leaning back on his skis, Ryan held both arms to his side and headed straight down the steep run, quickly gathering tremendous speed.

Eddy smiled to himself. "Not too many people have the guts to bomb right down a tough run like this."

Then, Ryan flew right off one of the bumps. "WHOAH!!!" he cheered.

Suddenly, Eddy noticed a skier crossing the hill, right into Ryan's path.

"WATCH OUT!" Eddy cried in horror.

Ryan couldn't stop in time. He smashed into the skier with a terrifying force, sending him flying down the hill.

Eddy scrambled over.

Ryan stared in shock at the limp, twisted body of the skier he'd hit.

The ski patrols rushed to the scene.

Ryan and the other skier were taken to the hospital. Ryan had a broken arm. The other skier had a crushed skull. He died soon after.

Ryan's mother arrived at the hospital in a panic. Ryan was still

dazed. "What...have I done?"

A cop approached. "Ryan Manderson, you're under arrest for reckless manslaughter."

Ryan's mother gasped. "But he's just a skier...not a criminal!"

IN THE COURTROOM

In court, the prosecutor was

adamant. "Your Honor, although

Ryan was an experienced skier,

he chose to ski straight down a

steep bumpy slope, out of control.

The force of the collision was so great that the victim ended up 90 feet below. Convict Ryan for reckless manslaughter. You must send a message to crazy skiers."

Ryan fought for his freedom. "Your Honor, I feel terrible for what happened, but this was just a freak accident. Lots of people ski as fast as I do. Everyone loses control once in a while when skiing. Surely that doesn't amount to manslaughter."

Is Ryan guilty of reckless manslaughter? YOU! Be The Judge. Then look below for the court's decision.

THE DECISION

"Guilty," held Judge Timothy. "By skiing so fast and out of control, Ryan created a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death to another person. Since he is an experienced skier, we can assume that he then consciously disregarded that risk. According to witnesses, Ryan skied like this for several minutes, so this was not just a momentary lapse of control inherent to skiing."

You! Be the Judge is based on cases from around the world. The characters and the scenarios are fictional. Any resemblance to real people is purely coincidental. The information in this column does not constitute legal advice. If you have a similar problem, consult a lawyer in your state. Elissa Bernstein is a lawyer and internationally syndicated columnist. Copyright 2004 Haika Enterprises AS3-10 (A9-2).