People v. Hall
Colorado Supreme Court
999 P.2d 207 (2000)
Trained ski racer and resort employee Nathan Hall (defendant) skied very fast down Vail mountain with poor form — tips up, arms out for balance — and, unable to stop after flying off a knoll, collided with and killed Allen Cobb from severe head trauma; charged with felony reckless manslaughter, the county court found Hall's excessive speed did not create a "substantial and unjustifiable risk of death" as state law required, dismissing the charge, and an intermediate district court affirmed, reasoning an ordinarily prudent person would not view Hall's skiing as creating even a 50-percent chance of death. The Colorado Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether probable cause supports a felony reckless manslaughter charge against a trained skier who caused a fatal collision through excessive speed and lack of control, where the risk of death arguably fell below a 50-percent likelihood.