In the denouement of a much-publicized case, the Washington Supreme Court ordered a trial court to dismiss charges against Douglas Bauer, a man who left a loaded gun accessible to his girlfriend’s six year old child. The child took the gun to school, where it discharged and seriously injured a classmate. Bauer was charged with third degree assault for “causing” the child’s injury directly and under a statute outlawing criminal complicity. Bauer sought dismissal of the charges as a matter of law, which the trial court denied. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court, keeping the charges alive. In State v. Bauer, the Supreme Court reversed.
Continue Reading Washington Supreme Court Declines to Blame Gun Owner for Injuries Caused When a Child Took the Loaded Gun to School