Liability can arise from an omission where a statute defines it as an offense or where there is a legal duty to act based on a special relationship between parties such as parent to child, spouse to spouse, employer to employee, landowner to invitees, or a captain of a ship to sailors. In these situations, failing to perform an action required by law can result in criminal liability even without overt conduct.

1. LIABILITY FOR AN OMISSION
• Omission-Defined Offense
– where the text of the offense describes omission
as prohibited
• Imputation
– liability is imposed in the absence of conduct
called for by the statute when the defendant has
both a legal duty and capacity to perform

2. EXAMPLES OF “LEGAL DUTY TO ACT”
RELATIONSHIPS
• Parent to child
• Spouse to spouse
• Employer to employee
• Landowner to invitees
• Captain of a ship to sailors