[Hugh the Scot]

No. A jury may decide whether or not a crime was committed here, but they cannot decide it was an accident.

[cuban leaf]

No. A jury may decide whether or not a crime was committed here, but they cannot decide it was an accident.

---

Sort of. First the DA has to decide whether they think a crime was committed and that they can pursue criminal charges. If they decide they should, then at trial the defendants can use, as their defense, that it was an accident, if they so choose.

So, if the Jury decides for the defendant in such a situation, they are finding not-guilty, but clearly implying that they too believe it was an accident.

That was the core perspective that resulted in my initial post.

But we’re mincing words, really. I end up with a lot of this sort of discussion on liberal sites, but not much here.