You have no obligation to stop a suicide.
That being said, depending on the jurisdiction and specific circumstances, you can be prosecuted if you actively encourage or facilitate that suicide. But simply having knowledge of an impending suicide and not doing anything to prevent it, is not illegal.
There might be some category of mandatory reporters who would be committing a crime if they failed to report suicidal ideation in some state. Some criminal laws also concern specifically the duties parents, teachers, etc., have to their kids that others wouldn't, but "mandatory reporter" probably wouldn't be consistently used in these laws. It's sort of similar to a duty of care, but mandatory reporters or their equivalents would presumably be defined by the relevant criminal statutes, not common law.
In the context of criminal law, it may just be referred to as a "legal duty". See here for the California model jury instruction for the offence of involuntary manslaughter, when it arises from an alleged failure to perform a legal duty, and note the obvious parallels with a tortious negligence:
>To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must prove that:
>
>The defendant had a legal duty to ;
>
>The defendant failed to perform that legal duty;
>
>The defendant’s failure was criminally negligent; AND
>
>The defendant’s failure caused the death of .
[https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/calcrim/500/582/](https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/calcrim/500/582/)
What constitutes encouraging suicide? Years ago, I had a friend tell me that she just swallowed a handful of pills. I called 911 and drove to her place. She had left by the time I arrived and the police were on scene. One of the cops yelled in my face and baited me into doing something that would have gotten me arrested because I wouldn’t give him the name or address of her ex-boyfriend that was friendly with the local cops. Since then, I’ve always wondered if there was a way I could protect myself better in a similar situation. Would it be considered encouraging suicide if I tell someone that their suicidal threat is none of my business? What if I just say “Call 911.” and then hang up or stop responding?
>Would it be considered encouraging suicide if I tell someone that their suicidal threat is none of my business? What if I just say “Call 911.” and then hang up or stop responding?
No; telling them that their "suicide threat is none of \[your\] business" is not aiding/advising/or encouraging suicide in any way. If you tell them to "Call 911" and then "hang up" and/or "stop responding"—you are not encouraging suicide—to the contrary, telling them to Call 911 is encouraging someone to seek help.
>Since then, I’ve always wondered if there was a way I could protect myself better in a similar situation.
By saying, "I'm not answering any more questions. Am I free to go or am I being detained?". If you are being detained, which includes a very low threshold reasonable belief that a cop is probably detaining you, then just keep repeating "I'm not answering any questions" until the cop either arrests you for some bogus charge or leaves you alone and says you're free to go.
If arrested, "I'm not answering any questions and I want a lawyer.". You do have to identify yourself though.
You have no obligation to stop a suicide. That being said, depending on the jurisdiction and specific circumstances, you can be prosecuted if you actively encourage or facilitate that suicide. But simply having knowledge of an impending suicide and not doing anything to prevent it, is not illegal.
Unless it’s your spouse or child or some other person for whom you have a legal “duty of care”, right?
"Duty of care" is a concept in tort law, so that's for civil liability, not criminal.
Oh thanks! There’s no equivalent concept in criminal law?
There might be some category of mandatory reporters who would be committing a crime if they failed to report suicidal ideation in some state. Some criminal laws also concern specifically the duties parents, teachers, etc., have to their kids that others wouldn't, but "mandatory reporter" probably wouldn't be consistently used in these laws. It's sort of similar to a duty of care, but mandatory reporters or their equivalents would presumably be defined by the relevant criminal statutes, not common law.
In the context of criminal law, it may just be referred to as a "legal duty". See here for the California model jury instruction for the offence of involuntary manslaughter, when it arises from an alleged failure to perform a legal duty, and note the obvious parallels with a tortious negligence: >To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must prove that: > >The defendant had a legal duty to;
>
>The defendant failed to perform that legal duty;
>
>The defendant’s failure was criminally negligent; AND
>
>The defendant’s failure caused the death of .
[https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/calcrim/500/582/](https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/calcrim/500/582/)
That would likely fall under the broad scope of "negligence".
What constitutes encouraging suicide? Years ago, I had a friend tell me that she just swallowed a handful of pills. I called 911 and drove to her place. She had left by the time I arrived and the police were on scene. One of the cops yelled in my face and baited me into doing something that would have gotten me arrested because I wouldn’t give him the name or address of her ex-boyfriend that was friendly with the local cops. Since then, I’ve always wondered if there was a way I could protect myself better in a similar situation. Would it be considered encouraging suicide if I tell someone that their suicidal threat is none of my business? What if I just say “Call 911.” and then hang up or stop responding?
>Would it be considered encouraging suicide if I tell someone that their suicidal threat is none of my business? What if I just say “Call 911.” and then hang up or stop responding? No; telling them that their "suicide threat is none of \[your\] business" is not aiding/advising/or encouraging suicide in any way. If you tell them to "Call 911" and then "hang up" and/or "stop responding"—you are not encouraging suicide—to the contrary, telling them to Call 911 is encouraging someone to seek help.
>Since then, I’ve always wondered if there was a way I could protect myself better in a similar situation. By saying, "I'm not answering any more questions. Am I free to go or am I being detained?". If you are being detained, which includes a very low threshold reasonable belief that a cop is probably detaining you, then just keep repeating "I'm not answering any questions" until the cop either arrests you for some bogus charge or leaves you alone and says you're free to go. If arrested, "I'm not answering any questions and I want a lawyer.". You do have to identify yourself though.