The Appellate Division, First Department, dealt with another Empire State Building jumper case. Why? Because they don’t have any Empire State Buildings anywhere else.
In People v. Corliss, the panel upheld the dismissal of first degree reckless endangerment, but reversed the dismissal of the second degree offense. The decision itself was relatively uneventful, and not worth more discussion than can be found in the NYLJ article.
But these are the sorts of cases that just don’t happen everywhere. It’s not that there aren’t tall enough buildings around the world. There are plenty, and many taller than the Empire State Building. The World Trader Center had its problems with stuff like this as well, whether wannabe-spideys climbing up or jumping down. But it’s not there anymore.
The genius in this case was Jeb Corliss.
Mr. Corliss, a 31-year-old professional BASE (building, antenna, span, earth) jumper and former host of Discovery Channel’s “Stunt Junkies,” wore a prosthetic fat suit and mask to evade recognition as heentered the observation deck on the landmark’s 86th floor.
After displaying a jump suit and parachute underneath the disguise, Mr. Corliss climbed a security Mr. Corliss, a 31-year-old professional BASE (building, antenna, span, earth) jumper and former host of Discovery Channel’s “Stunt Junkies,” wore a prosthetic fat suit and mask to evade recognition as he entered the observation deck on the landmark’s 86th floor.Jeb Corliss: “Don’t you trust me?”
After displaying a jump suit and parachute underneath the disguise, Mr. Corliss climbed a security fence and donned a helmet equipped with a camera to record the leap.
But before he could jump, security guards intervened and handcuffed Mr. Corliss to the fence. The guards subsequently cut Mr. Corliss free from his parachute, after he explained that his arms could be ripped from his body if the parachute inadvertently opened while he was bound to the fence.
I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a “professional BASE jumper.” What is the test one takes to join this profession? What is the professional code of conduct? Who pays them to do it?
There must be something about jumping off the Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan that makes unstable people positively insane. The potential for harm to others is manifest, yet they don’t care. They adamantly argue that they know how to do it, that it will be safe, that there is no risk to anyone else. What a load of crap. Afterward, do they say, “oops, Sorry.”
Some readers will no doubt think that I am just terminably uncool because I don’t think that this fellows 30 seconds of thrill is worth the potential harm to innocent folks walking around below. Of course, those people probably think “Jackass, The Movie” should have won an Oscar.
For those of you who are wondering, “Say, where can we get those really cool sunglasses?” I assume they are readily available if you select the right package of Cracker Jacks.
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Don’t jump off the Empire State Building
In fact, don’t even THINK ABOUT jumping off the Empire State Building. You will faced reckless endangerment charges even if you get stopped before you leave the ledge.The state appeals court has over…
In order to start BASE jumping, you are required to be an expert skydiver (200+ jumps) Most people who take a FJC (first jump course) to BASE jump have at least 1000 jumps. This teaches you necessary freefall skills and canopy control skills to safely BASE jump. For someone to be considered an “expert” BASE jumper might have a few hundred BASE jumps and from each of the 4 catagories (building, antenna, span(bridge), and earth(cliff). An expert BASE jumper is nothing short of a highly trained athlete. These guys have to react faster than NASCAR drivers and perform with the grace of a ballerina. With the correct wind speed and direction, the ESB jump would be a medium level of difficulty. The traffic and obstacles below add to the difficulty (as opposed to landing in a field after jumping an antenna) but the 1000′ height lets you track far away from the object prior to deployment and it also buys you time in case you need to work out a canopy malfunction or an off-heading opening. A good base jumper can land on a target the size of a dinner plate. Jeb has over 1000 BASE jumps and would have no doubt walked away from this jump as would everyone else. Ignorance and lack of understanding of this sport by the general public is really screwing Jeb right now. Please try to be open-minded and examine the facts before you write someone off as stupid, reckless, or just wrong.
It’s amazing how a few thrill-seekers can decide that they can rewrite the rules for everyone else because they insist that they are experts.
No, society has not chosen to place its welfare in Jeb’s hands so that Jeb can have a good time. Your choices do not trump everyone else’s, no matter how stupid, reckless or just wrong you think everyone else is. I’m very open-minded; I just think your position is sheer nonsense.
Thankfully, society’s welfare is not in Jeb’s hands or those of any other BASE jumper, mountaineer, skydiver, scuba diver, motocross rider, NASCAR driver, or smoker. You takes your chances, you get what you want, unless you hurt someone. The real question, unanswered yet implicitly assumed in the essay, is that BASE jumpers threaten the general public. As BASE jumping has been around long enough for the name to be widely known among the public, there appears to be a significant amount of this activity taking place. Presumably the first injury to a non-participant would draw substantial publicity. Find one report of any injury to a non-participant from an act of BASE jumping and I’d buy the “manifest potential for harm to others.” It sounds to me like speculation rather than fact. To prove reckless endangerment the prosecution will need to show that this “manifest potential” exists, and that Jeb recognized it under the circumstances (his specific plans and preparation, including efforts to mitigate danger, are relevant).
Trespass, yes. Reckless endangerment, not so much.
Wow, you sound pretty bitter. Not exactly the life of the party, are you?