Santa Clara County Vehicular Manslaughter Defense Attorneys
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Defending Business, Professional and Everyday People
Facing Vehicular Homicide Charges
The Northern and Central California criminal defense team at the Moore Law Firm has a proven track record of handling vehicular manslaughter cases effectively in court. In 2007, our firm handled the high-profile case of People vs. Delgado, achieving a not-guilty verdict in a felony manslaughter trial, where a Prince and Princess of Tonga were killed.
Our clients come from all walks of life, and include teachers, attorneys, physicians, nurses, and others who may face disciplinary proceedings to suspend or revoke a professional license. Our lawyers keep your professional concerns in focus as we defend you against vehicular manslaughter or homicide charges. We can also represent you before your professional licensing board.
Defense Against Any Vehicular Manslaughter Charge
Our starting point in the defense of any vehicular manslaughter or murder charge is a thorough, independent investigation of the facts, including eyewitness accounts, accident reconstruction, and toxicology evidence. The Moore Law Firm legal team works closely with the best forensic accident reconstruction experts, investigators, and forensic toxicologists.
At the Moore Law Firm, our familiarity with the burden of proof the prosecution must meet, especially regarding negligence, causation, and intoxication, can make a crucial difference in defending your case. We represent clients facing any and all criminal charges arising from a death caused by a car:
- Vehicular manslaughter without malice or forethought
- Vehicular manslaughter with or without gross negligence
- Driving a vehicle in the commission of an unlawful act but without gross negligence
- Driving a vehicle in an unlawful manner (which might produce death), but without gross negligence
- Voluntary and involuntary manslaughter
- Negligent homicide
- Murder
Drug and Alcohol Involvement
Under California Penal Code §191.5, there are two forms of manslaughter that involve alcohol or drugs:
- Vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, ordinary negligence
- Gross vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (Watson Murder)
What is Negligence?
Difference between gross negligence and ordinary negligence can make substantial difference between misdemeanor and felony charges. It is customary for any district attorney to include allegations of racing, reckless driving, speeding at insane speeds, exaggerating traffic violations in order to allege circumstances suggesting more than an ordinary lack of good judgment on the part of the driver, even if not intoxicated. As a result, a person charged with manslaughter usually finds in his/her complaint allegations of more than 3 different traffic violations.
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Ordinary negligence is the failure to use reasonable care to prevent reasonably foreseeable harm. A person is negligent if he or she does something that a reasonably careful person would not do in the same situation, or if he or she fails to do something that a reasonably careful person would do in the same situation.
- Gross negligence is more than ordinary carelessness, inattention, or mistake in judgment. A person acts with gross negligence when the way he or she acts is so different from the way an ordinarily careful person would act in the same situation that his or her act amounts to disregard for human life or indifference to the consequences of that act. The combination of driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and violating a traffic law is not enough by itself to establish gross negligence. The level of intoxication and the way the person drove their vehicle must also be considered.
Second Degree Murder
People get charged with a second degree murder when malice can be implied (for example, when it can be proven that the drunk driver knew that drunk driving is an act dangerous to human life, if a fatal accident occurs, the drunk driver may be charged with a second degree murder).
What is Murder With Malice Aforethought?
Malice aforethought does not require hatred or ill will toward the victim. It is a mental state that must be formed before the act that caused the death is committed. It does not require deliberation or the passage of any particular period of time. There are two kinds of malice, express and implied malice.
- The defendant acted with express malice if he intended to kill.
- The defendant acted with implied malice if he intentionally committed an act, the natural consequences of which were dangerous to human life and he or she knew it was dangerous at the time and deliberately and consciously chose to do it anyway.
For a free consultation about the charges you face and your legal options, contact an experienced criminal defense lawyer at the Moore Law Firm.
- To review the California penal code on alcohol and drug related vehicular manslaughter laws
