Follow up on the possible criminal liability of a parent

 A few days ago I posted a comment on the ongoing prosecution of the mother of a child who engaged in a mass shooting at a school.  The case is a criminal prosecution but some of the issues are similar and relevant for tort law because they involve the possibility of imposing vicarious liability (which is not what is being charged) and the underlying issue of causation (which is very much at issue in the case).  

I am following up on this today because Joseph Margulies. a Professor of Government at Cornell University, recently published a comment on these issues over at Justicia. In it he points out, correctly, that one important issue in the case (as in a torts case) is the question of proximate cause and, although he does not mention it by name, the question of duty.  And, in the end, he questions whether it would be a good idea to impose a duty on parents that could result in criminal liability under the circumstances of the case.  The comment is short and you can read it here.