Meadows v. State

I do not share the majority’s concern that this court would be “creating a common law crime” by holding that an unborn, fully viable fetus1 is a “person” within the meaning of our manslaughter statute.

This is not a “new crime.” This court would not in any sense be “creating” a crime. The crime was created legislatively as part of the Revised Statutes, which took effect in 1838. What we would be doing by affirming the trial court is what courts traditionally and necessarily do — interpret an act of the legislature for the purpose of giving effect to what we perceive to be the legislative…