Mother Takes Europe Vacation-and Leaves Behind 4 Kids

Erin Lee Macke, a 30 year old Iowa mother, left the United States and planned to leave her four young children home alone unsupervised for two weeks. She has 1 six year old, 1 seven year old, and 2 twelve year olds. The Police received a tip about her leaving the children alone and checked on them the day after she left.The officers found the four children alone that evening, and the older twins were preparing to feed their sisters.They found the four children alone. The kids told the officers that their mother didn't arrange for anyone to watch them while she was gone.

Macke was contacted by police over the phone while she was in Germany, and was told to return to the states. She told the police that none of her babysitters could watch the kids, so she decided to leave her preteens in charge.

She returned to the States, and she was charged with four counts of child endangerment and one count of making a firearm available to a person under the age of 21 because there was a gun in the house within reach of the children. The Iowa Department of Human Services took custody of the children until other family members were able to step in and take care of them.

The Judge ordered that Macke not have contact with her children whatsoever.

Comments from Allen:
Idaho has a standard "child endangerment" law that reads:


(2) Any person who, under circumstances or conditions other than those likely to produce great bodily harm or death, willfully causes or permits any child to suffer, or inflicts thereon unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or having the care or custody of any child, willfully causes or permits the person or health of such child to be injured, or willfully causes or permits such child to be placed in such situation that its person or health may be endangered, is guilty of a misdemeanor.


The problem with this type of law is that it is very vague.  While you and I may agree that what this woman did was outrageous and irresponsible, a person cannot be prosecuted for a crime unless he or she violates a clear law prohibiting certain behavior.

I have seen people prosecuted for violating this law for merely falling asleep on a couch in their home when they were charged with watching a small child, and the child unlatched the door and walked down the street.   Should anyone be threatened with having their children taken away or going to jail if that happens?  Certainly not.

Commentators on this kind of crime say it is a matter of degree: some kids are more mature than others, and kids mature at different ages, and while a 30 minute trip to the store by mom is maybe okay, that is quite different than an intercontinental plane flight 4300 miles away from the kids.

Mom will be convicted here.

That said, this statute, I believe, is very near that line which nullifies a criminal statute for being unconstitutionally vague.  It is a catch-all kind of statute, which seeks to criminalize conduct which is tough to define with clarity in every case.  And if the conduct sought to be punished is not clearly defined in a criminal statute, the statute is at risk for being declared unconstitutionally vague, even if what a criminal defendant did was clearly wrong.

***********************************************************************************************************************

Allen Browning is an attorney in Idaho Falls, Idaho who handles personal injury and criminal defense. He has over 30 years of experience and handled thousands of cases. Allen handles cases from all over Idaho. Call (208) 542-2700 to set up a free consultation if you are facing legal trouble or you have been involved in an accident.

Also, check out browninglaw.net for more information about Allen and Browning Law.

Allen Browning can help with all personal injury claims including motor vehicle accidents,truck accidents, auto accidents, serious and disabling accidents, and wrongful death claims.

Allen Browning is an Idaho Falls attorney who can also help with drunk driving (DUI), traffic violations, Felony, Misdemeanor, Domestic Violence, Drug Crimes, Theft, Juvenile Crimes, battery and assault charges, Violent Crimes, and Probation/Parole Violations. He is one of the most experienced and successful criminal defense attorneys in Idaho.
Allen is able to provide his services if the incident occurs in the following Idaho Areas: American Falls, Arco, Blackfoot, Boise, Burley, Driggs, Idaho Falls, Malad City, Pocatello, Rexburg, Rigby, Salmon, St. Anthony, Twin Falls, Bannock County, Bingham County, Bonneville County, Butte County, Cassia County, Clark County, Fremont County, Jefferson County, Lemhi County, Madison County, Oneida County, Power County, Teton County, and Twin Falls County.   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

7 Things Lawyers Can't Tell Jurors

Image
 It is a trial lawyer's job to educate jurors, and tell them what they need to know in order to decide cases. Despite this, there are many things, true things, that lawyers are not allowed to tell jurors directly in statements to the jury or indirectly through testimony of their witnesses. Lawyers know these things, though, and I thought you might like to know some of things. #1. A lawyer can't tell the jurors anything that happened during settlement negotiations. He cannot let the jurors know, when asking them to make the defendant pay his client $100,000 that the defendant agreed to pay him $80,000 prior to the trial. The reason for this is that you want settlement negotiations to be very open. You don't want to damage a negotiation session because someone is afraid that what they say will get repeated to a jury if you don't strike a deal. #2 In Idaho, a lawyer can't tell the jurors that the defendant has insurance. In many other states, he can. Bec
Read more

Man Framed by Prosecutor Released After 29 Years in Prison Seeking Lawsuit

Image
19 year old, Charise Kamps, was found raped and strangled to death in her apartment in June 1980. Ralph Armstrong told the police that both of them were at the apartment alone doing cocaine before leaving to go see friends around 9:30 pm. Police said that they learned that Armstrong owed Kamp's boyfriend $400 and witnesses saw Armstrong handing Kamps money that night. However, the money was not found in the apartment, and Armstrong deposited $315 in his bank the next day.The defense argued that he got the money from his brother. One of the neighbors saw a lean, muscular man about 5 feet 5 inches tall with long, dark hair drive up to the apartment. Before the identification process, the police had the witness hypnotized. He was shown a photograph of Armstrong, and After being hypnotized, the witness changed the height of the man he saw. Later at a lineup to have the witness select the man he saw, he chose Armstrong. The other people in the lineup were police officers in wigs
Read more

Tuesday Tip: Reid Interrogation Technique

Image
Various methods have been used in police interrogations to elicit a confession. By far the most popular method used for over seventy years is the Reid Technique. This interrogation method assumes guilty suspects can be identified from certain behavioral cues. It is said to be proven as highly effective at getting confessions; however, there has been criticism about it for many years because it has been linked to many wrongful convictions.  Around 25 percent of post conviction DNA exonerations have been associated with a false confession from authorities using the Reid Technique. Even one of the first cases in which John Reid used this technique turned out to be a false confession. More and more scientists and scholars are saying this approach is based on outdated psychology. There are several components incorporated in this technique, including room design and how the investigator conducts the interview. There are three spatial zones the investigators use, which can be seen in
Read more