Also known as: substantial unjustifiable risk · recklessness · MPC 2.02
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A risk of harm that is both of significant magnitude in probability or severity and lacking sufficient social justification to excuse its creation or disregard. The risk must be evaluated in light of the nature and purpose of the actor's conduct and the circumstances known to the actor. Its disregard or the failure to perceive it constitutes the basis for recklessness or negligence.
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Samantha Stone fired a rifle repeatedly into a crowded street at night to scare off rivals. The bullets struck and killed a bystander. The extreme probability of death from that conduct supplied the substantial and unjustifiable risk that supported an inference of malice aforethought.
Sofia Stern, a bus dispatcher, received a direct report that her driver was exhausted after a double shift and that icy roads lay ahead. She ordered the driver to proceed anyway to avoid overtime costs. The known danger of a fatigued driver on ice created the substantial and unjustifiable risk whose conscious disregard established recklessness.
Simon Stern operated heavy equipment at excessive speed through a pedestrian area despite clear warnings of the danger. A pedestrian who was also careless was struck. Because the operator's conduct created a substantial and unjustifiable risk through recklessness, the pedestrian's contributory negligence provided no defense.
Scott Summers, an experienced nurse, administered a high-risk cardiac drug after only a quick glance at a chart that showed a similar last name. The patient suffered severe complications. The obvious danger of misidentification was a substantial and unjustifiable risk that Summers failed to perceive, supporting criminal negligence.
Steven Silva, a crane operator with no seizure history, suddenly blacked out and lost control of the crane. The uncontrolled swing injured a passerby. Because the operator should have been aware of the substantial and unjustifiable risk created by continuing to work without medical clearance, the failure to perceive it met the negligence definition.
Skylar Sullivan operated a forklift at high speed in a crowded warehouse without required permits or barriers after receiving an explicit safety warning. A runner was struck and killed. The regulatory violations and ignored warning produced the substantial and unjustifiable risk that supported involuntary manslaughter under the unlawful-act theory.
Recklessness requires that the actor consciously disregard the risk. Negligence requires only that the actor should have been aware of it. Both standards evaluate whether the risk was of such a nature and degree that its disregard or non-perception was a gross deviation from the standard a law-abiding or reasonable person would observe.
Supporting sources
…the elements of the § 10(b) aiding and abetting cause of action in the Tenth Circuit: (1) a primary violation of § 10(b); (2) recklessness by the aider and abettor as to the existence of the primary violation; and (3) substantial assistance given to the primary violator by the aider and abettor. Id. , at 898-903. Applying…
…an element of capital murder.[^maj-7] Three other States require proof of a culpable mental state short of intent, such as recklessness
…line a few times, and runs a few red lights. The Constitution assuredly does not impose this invitation to impunity-earned-by-recklessness
…factor derives from the fact that the signature qualities of youth are transient; as individuals mature, the impetuousness and recklessness
…of art. To the popular understanding of subjective malice was added an objective standard, by which negligence tantamount to recklessness
The risk must involve a high probability or severe degree of harm when viewed in light of the actor's conduct and known circumstances. A remote or minor possibility does not qualify.
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A risk is unjustifiable when its social utility does not outweigh the danger created, considering the nature and purpose of the conduct and the circumstances known to the actor. Conduct undertaken purely for commercial gain despite clear warnings of probable death typically renders the risk unjustifiable.
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Yes. Both definitions require a substantial and unjustifiable risk. The distinction lies solely in whether the actor consciously disregarded it or merely failed to perceive it.
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Involuntary manslaughter requires a gross deviation creating a high risk of death or serious bodily harm. Depraved-heart murder demands a higher degree of reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life.
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