WPIC 38.11 Abandonment of a Dependent Person—First Degree—Elements
11 WAPRAC WPIC 38.11Washington Practice Series TMWashington Pattern Jury Instructions--Criminal
11 Wash. Prac., Pattern Jury Instr. Crim. WPIC 38.11 (5th Ed)
Washington Practice Series TM
Washington Pattern Jury Instructions--Criminal
January 2024 Update
Part VI. Crimes Against Personal Security
WPIC CHAPTER 38. Criminal Mistreatment
WPIC 38.11 Abandonment of a Dependent Person—First Degree—Elements
To convict the defendant of the crime of abandonment of a dependent person in the first degree, each of the following elements of the crime must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt:
(1) That on or about (date), the defendant recklessly abandoned (name of person);
(2) That as a result of being abandoned, (name of person) suffered great bodily harm;
(3) That (name of person) was a [child] [dependent person];
(4) That the defendant [was the parent of (name of person)] [was entrusted with the physical custody of (name of person)] [had assumed the responsibility to provide to (name of person) the basic necessities of life] [was employed to provide to (name of person) the basic necessities of life]; and
(5) That any of these acts occurred in the State of Washington.
If you find from the evidence that each of these elements has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt, then it will be your duty to return a verdict of guilty.
On the other hand, if, after weighing all the evidence, you have a reasonable doubt as to any one of these elements, then it will be your duty to return a verdict of not guilty.
NOTE ON USE
Use bracketed material as applicable. For directions on the various ways to use the bracketed phrases relating to how the crime is committed, see WPIC 4.20 (Introduction).
For a discussion of the phrase “any of these acts” in the jurisdictional element, see WPIC 4.20 (Introduction) and the Note on Use to WPIC 4.21 (Elements of the Crime—Form).
With this instruction, use as applicable WPIC 10.03 (Recklessness—Definition), WPIC 38.20 (Basic Necessities of Life—Definition), WPIC 38.21 (Child—Definition), WPIC 38.22 (Dependent Person—Definition), WPIC 38.23 (Employed—Definition), and WPIC 38.24 (Abandons—Definition). When defining “great bodily harm,” use WPIC 38.19 (Criminal Mistreatment and Related Offenses—Great Bodily Harm—Definition) rather than the slightly different definition found in WPIC 2.04 (Great Bodily Harm—Definition) (see discussion in the Comment below).
COMMENT
RCW 9A.42.060.
No legal designation, such as power of attorney, is required to establish physical custody. The Legislature intended physical custody as used in RCW 9A.42.020 to mirror the definition of physical custody in RCW 26.27.021(14) (physical care and supervision) whether or not the victim is a child. State v. Koch, 157 Wn.App. 20, 237 P.3d 287 (2010). See additional discussion in the Comment to WPIC 38.02 (Criminal Mistreatment—First Degree—Elements).
“Great bodily harm” is defined slightly differently in two different statutes, RCW 9A.04.110 (for general purposes of the criminal code) and RCW 9A.42.010 (for the specific purpose of abandonment and criminal mistreatment offenses). This issue is discussed in more detail in the Comment to WPIC 38.02 (Criminal Mistreatment—First Degree—Elements). Accordingly, for purposes of abandonment and criminal mistreatment offenses, practitioners should be careful to define “great bodily harm” using WPIC 38.19 (Criminal Mistreatment and Related Offenses—Great Bodily Harm—Definition), rather than WPIC 2.04 (Great Bodily Harm—Definition).
[Current as of January 2019.]
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