Labor Day in Santa Barbara will long be remembered for the 34 people who died in a boat fire off Santa Cruz Island. But this year, on the day before the third anniversary of the tragedy aboard the Conception, the federal court dismissed the seaman’s manslaughter charges against the dive boat’s captain, Jerry Boylan.
Civil lawsuits have blamed the fire on the ship’s owners and inadequate Coast Guard inspections, but the legal arguments that led to the dismissal of the criminal charges against Boylan — without prejudice, which means the government may bring new charges — revolved around whether he had to be found guilty of negligence or of gross negligence.
Boylan’s public defenders argued that when it came to criminal acts, the government had to allege gross negligence, as per the plain meaning of criminal negligence described by legal dictionaries, treatises, and case law. In response, the prosecutors listed the failures on Boylan’s part both before and during the fire as demonstrating his “misconduct, negligence, or inattention to his duties,” as described by the manslaughter statute.