[20190722]LSB10334_母亲产前滥用药物导致新生儿死亡被联邦政府起诉.pdf

CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Moms Prenatal Drug Abuse Sustains Federal Manslaughter Indictment in Newborns Death M. Maureen Murphy Legislative Attorney July 22, 2019 What Happened United States v. Flute involves a rare federal manslaughter prosecution based on the death of a newborn caused by a mothers prenatal negligence. The indictment charging manslaughter by an Indian in Indian country in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1112 (the federal manslaughter statute) and 18 U.S.C. 1153 (the Indian Country Major Crimes Act) was dismissed by the trial court and ordered reinstated in a July 5, 2019, split decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (Eighth Circuit). Both the trial and appellate court decisions turn on statutory interpretation and how two recently enacted statutes designed to protect unborn children affect the federal manslaughter statute. Because the case involves conduct occurring during a pregnancy, the two issues dealt with in the decisions are whether the manslaughter statute contemplates: (1) a born-alive child victim and (2) the childs mother as defendant. Background Samantha Flute, an Americ