State v. McVay
Rhode Island Supreme Court
132 A. 436 (1926)
- Written by Craig Conway, LLM
Facts
McVay (defendant) was the captain for the steamer ship Mackinac which carried several hundred passengers from Pawtucket to Newport via Narragansett Bay. Even though he and the ship’s engineer, Grant, had knowledge that the vessel’s boiler producing steam was unsafe, they continued on to Newport. During the voyage, the boiler exploded, killing three passengers. McVay and Grant were charged with manslaughter for causing the deaths of the three passengers. Another individual, Kelley, was charged as an accessory before the fact for feloniously and maliciously aiding and abetting McVay and Grant. The trial court certified a question for the Rhode Island Supreme Court to review, namely “[m]ay a defendant be indicted and convicted of being an accessory before the fact to the crime of manslaughter arising through criminal negligence as set forth in the indictment?”
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Barrows, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 782,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
