Santillanes v. New Mexico

Frost Santillanes (defendant) cut his seven-year-old nephew's neck during an altercation and was charged with child abuse under a statute covering negligently placing a child in a situation that may endanger the child's life or health. The trial judge instructed the jury using the standard civil-negligence definition -- conduct a reasonably prudent person would recognize as creating an unreasonable risk of injury -- and Santillanes was convicted; the court of appeals affirmed, and the New Mexico Supreme Court granted certiorari.