Liability of the Parents and Guardians of Children In The State of California
Speaking about the people, who are liable for the committed crimes, it is worth indicating that it is not also the person that directly committed a violation of the criminal law. Sometimes, parents and guardians of the offenders are vicariously liable for the crimes of, for example, their children. Therefore, it is crucial to analyze such a criminal tendency in the lights of its conformity with the constitutional norms as well as its advantages and disadvantages.
To start with, indeed, such type of liability confronts the core principles of the Constitution. As Lippman concerns, “vicarious liability is contrary to the core principle that individuals should be held responsible and liable for their own conduct” (151). As for me, the main reason for such a departure is that the children that commit crimes often do not have a possibility to realize the committed by them. Hence, parents and guardians serve as the people who are responsible for the acts of their children, so it is correct to hold them liable.
Turning to the point of strong and weak sides of the laws that foresees parental vicarious liability, it is possible to differentiate some of them. The advantage is that such laws create the prerequisites for the parents to think over the behavior of their children. In other words, it seems to be an advantage of preventive character. In turn, overuse or misinterpretation of the parental vicarious liability may lead to the misunderstandings and inappropriate resolutions of the cases.
Finally, California is a great example concerning analyzing this type of liability. As Tozer states, “generally, a parent is not liable for torts committed by his or her minor child”. Exceptions are, for example, intentional wrongdoing, intentional wrongdoing related to school, discharge of a firearm etc. Thus, it is necessary to provide such limitations in order to avoid the misinterpretations.
To conclude, vicarious liability of the parents and guardians of the children should still exist but with clearly provided limitations.
Works Cited
Lippman, Matthew. Contemporary Criminal Law: Concepts, Cases, and Controversies. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2016.
Tozer, Matthew B. “Are Parents Liable for Their Children’s Torts or Crimes”. Christian Attorney – California Lawyer, n.d. Web. 26 May …
