Opinion ID: 1752743
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Theory of liability.

Text: Section 707.5(1) defines involuntary manslaughter as follows: A person commits a class D felony when the person unintentionally causes the death of another person by the commission of a public offense other than a forcible felony or escape. Although not expressly stated in the statute, we have held that the underlying public offense must be committed recklessly in order to convict a person under section 707.5(1). State v. Conner, 292 N.W.2d 682, 686, 689 (Iowa 1980). Proof at trial here was primarily directed toward the public offenses of reckless driving, § 321.277, The Code 1979, and drag racing, § 321.278, The Code 1979. On appeal, defendant does not argue that the evidence was insufficient for trial court to find that both he and Sulgrove recklessly committed those public offenses prior to the accident. Rather, defendant's main contention is that proof of the causation element of section 707.5(1) was lacking. See Divisions II and III, infra. Trial court found that defendant was guilty of involuntary manslaughter under each of three separate theories: (1) that defendant aided and abetted Sulgrove in Sulgrove's commission of involuntary manslaughter, see § 703.1, The Code 1979 (defining aiding and abetting); (2) that defendant was vicariously responsible for Sulgrove's commission of involuntary manslaughter by reason of their joint participation in the public offense of drag racing, see § 703.2, The Code 1979 (defining joint criminal conduct); and (3) that defendant himself committed the crime of involuntary manslaughter by recklessly engaging in a drag race so as to proximately cause the Sulgrove-Ellis collision. We note that aiding and abetting and joint criminal conduct are theories of vicarious liability, based on Sulgrove's commission of involuntary manslaughter. Although a vicarious liability theory may be sufficient to convict defendant for the death of Faith Ellis, the same is not true with regard to the death of Sulgrove. This is because the involuntary manslaughter statute requires proof that the perpetrator caused the death of another person. See § 707.5(1). Obviously, Sulgrove could not have committed involuntary manslaughter with respect to his own death. Therefore, a theory under which defendant is only vicariously liable for Sulgrove's crime would be inadequate to convict defendant for Sulgrove's death. We turn, then, to consideration of the third theory of liability, i.e., that defendant's reckless commission of the public offense of drag racing was a proximate cause of the Sulgrove and Ellis deaths. [1]