Noakes v. Virginia
Supreme Court of Virginia
699 S.E.2d 284 (2010)
Home day-care provider Noakes (defendant) placed a cardboard cover weighted with a 33-pound dog crate over the crib of 15-month-old Noah, who habitually stood and cried rather than sleeping, and left him unsupervised for three hours; she returned to find him fatally wedged, head and neck trapped between the cover and crib rail. After a bench trial resulting in an involuntary-manslaughter conviction, upheld by the court of appeals as reasonably foreseeable given Noakes's own awareness of Noah's habit of standing, Noakes appealed to the state supreme court arguing she lacked criminal negligence.
Whether an involuntary-manslaughter conviction can be upheld where the defendant should have known that her particular conduct was likely to cause substantial harm.