Proposed Law Inspired by Casey Anthony Case Passes Assembly

By Emma G. Gallegos on Jan 27, 2012

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Screenshot (YouTube)
A law inspired by Casey Anthony and introduced by a Los Angeles assemblywoman has passed the state assembly with overwhelming bipartisan support and is headed over to the state senate.

"Caylee's Law" would make it a crime for a parent to not report a child's death or disappearance within 24 hours, according to the Sacramento Bee. Offenders would be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. The law is inspired by Casey Anthony, who failed to report her daughter's death for a month, but who ended up notoriously being acquitted of murder. Los Angeles Democrat Holly Mitchell sponsored the bill.

Anthony lived in Florida, but her case has been an inspiration to at least sixteen states around the country and some very popular Change.org petitions.

The law sounds like common sense — why shouldn't a parent report their kid missing? — but not everyone is a fan. Some critics say creating laws to respond to one high-profile case isn't good legislating. And Huffington Post reporter Radley Balko says these laws could have their own problems: they could cause overcompliance, it could be hard to tell when to start the clock and there's the potential for the rule to be abused by prosecutors.

The bills are incredibly popular, however, with lots of support by the public as well as politicians scandalized by the Anthony verdict. California's version of Caylee's Law passed the assembly 66-3.

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  • mikejackson113
    I give this law about 5-10 years max before it's repealed. This is a law that was written solely to punish Casey Antony, but of course can't do anything to her. The big problem with this law is that it's going to be abused more than it will be properly used and odds are that the police won't charge most parents with it because of the extreme amount of work it would cause for them. The police are already overtaxed as it is, so many will not want to look for a 15 year old who has a habit of bad behavior. (Sad but true.) Then there are the people who aren't aware that their kid is missing. What if the kid is out at a friend's house and went missing, but the other parent lied to the missing kid's parent? Who is at fault in that situation? What if the parent who lied ended up lying again when questioned about said lie? There are people who do this, believe you me. 

    Unfortunately the people who *should* have this law applied to them will find ways around it. They always do, just as Casey Anthony did.
  • RedMercury...yes..there should be an age separation on this bill for little kids vs. tweens and up for a bit longer. However, if your kid hasn't called you in 24 hours and you have no issue...get some parenting classes and therapy as you are, COMPLETELY, failing as a parent. Speaking of failing as a parent, you CAN be charged in most states, after a short time of a child missing past a certain amount of hours for NEGLECT. Spend more time with your kid(s) and less time trolling the net.
    P.S. Not wasting my time with this garbage article again, so..troll away and show your mentality that needs some therapy.
  • billierogers
    66-3  whats that tell the casey anthony jury????
  • RedMercury
    That we watch more TV than they did.
  • It is sad that we need laws like this.  I would say the majority of "decent" humans that have a child missing report it immediately.  Only those that have something to hide, such as murder (in Casey's case) do not report it.
  • RedMercury
    The sad part is that we don't need laws like this.  It's just idiotic grandstanding by politicians.
  • Deborah Herriage
    Whether or not there are "resources" to follow up in a timely manner for every call, 24 hours is not a long time to report a 2 year old missing.  Any parent that doesn't know where their toddler is would be frantic.  I'd be camping on the doorsteps of the police until they acted on it.  Hopefully, this law will send a message to these young girls who drug their babies so they can go party that they'd better watch out.
  • natums
    Agree on it being a bit rash but necessary. You might suddenly get parents prematurely calling just because their kids phone died and it's been a full work day and their kids went to a friends house without telling them.

    48 hrs should be mandatory, but 24 would make parents panic, it's like legally judging them as parents for letting their kids have a bit of freedom.
  • RedMercury
    Here's an interesting question:  When does the 24 hours start?

    My kid goes to his friend's for a sleep-over at 4:00PM.  He'll be back sometime tomorrow.  Sometime tomorrow rolls around...no sign of him.  4:00PM rolls around...and he's not still not home.

    Has he been missing for 24 hours?  Am I obliged to call the police just in case he's lying dead in a ditch somewhere?

    That's why laws like this are stupid.
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