Vehicular Manslaughter and Homicide

Vehicular Manslaughter is not directly referenced in Arizona statutes. Since the state does not differentiate the crime of manslaughter from vehicular manslaughter, cases that involve this criminal offense are handled and tried in the same manner. Under A.R.S. Section 13-1103, a charge of Manslaughter by Vehicle involves the killing of another human by a driver.  Do not hesitate.  Take action now if you are have been in an accident involving a fatality anywhere in Arizona including Maricopa County, Phoenix, Chandler, Tempe, Scottsdale or Gilbert. 

Depending on the other elements involved, vehicular manslaughter is the offense. Any motorist who drives with negligence or recklessness, causing the death of another human being, could face homicide, manslaughter, or even murder charges. 

If you are charged with any variation of vehicular manslaughter or homicide, you should immediately contact an Arizona criminal defense attorney from the Ciccarelli Law Offices. 

Arizona Vehicular Manslaughter Lawyers Ready to Fight for Your Future

Perhaps you are not guilty of the crime you are being accused of, or perhaps you simply made an error in judgment. Either way, the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Ciccarelli Law Offices have your back. We are proven and aggressive, yet compassionate to your situation, fighting for you in the same way we would fight for our own family members. We are an experienced team of criminal defense trial attorneys, determined to fight for your rights, and for your future. 

Attorney Lee Ciccarelli leads a criminal defense team that has a combined one hundred years of national criminal defense experience, in state and federal courts. At the Ciccarelli Law Offices, we fully understand the implications, as well as the consequences of an Arizona criminal investigation, prosecution, and conviction. We want you to know that now is the time for action, even if you are only under suspicion of a criminal offense. 

The sooner we are on the case, the more likely we can secure a successful outcome on your behalf. The Ciccarelli Law Offices bring big-city criminal defense experience defending high-profile felony charges. No matter who you are, where you are from, or how much money you have, our goal is to make a difference in your case, and in your life. At the Ciccarelli Law Offices:

• We have successfully represented thousands of clients throughout the country. 
• We have hundreds of Five-Star Reviews from clients. 
• We are Driven to Serve, Ready to Fight, and Success is Our Mission

What Are the Potential Charges for Vehicular Manslaughter or Vehicular Homicide?

You could be charged with Negligent Homicide if you were driving in a manner that could be considered criminally negligent. If you are believed to have acted with criminal negligence, this means you have unknowingly done or unknowingly failed to do something that created a substantial, unjustifiable risk to others. The risk you created must have been to such a degree that your failure to perceive that risk could be considered a gross deviation from the standard of care a reasonable person would have used, given the same set of circumstances. 

You could be charged with Manslaughter if you were clearly driving recklessly, and that reckless behavior directly resulted in the death of another person. When you knowingly do something—or you knowingly failed to do something—that caused a substantial, unjustifiable risk to others, then you could be charged with Manslaughter. The difference between Negligent Homicide and Manslaughter comes down to the difference between negligence and recklessness. A person who was clearly aware of the risk yet disregarded it is more likely to be charged with Manslaughter, while a person who was not aware of the risk, yet still caused a risk to others is more likely to be charged with Negligent Homicide. 

If you recklessly engaged in driving behavior that created a grave risk of death to other humans, you could be charged with Second-Degree Murder. These charges are only in cases where the prosecution can show you exhibited extreme indifference to human life. The dividing line between Manslaughter and Second-Degree Murder can be fuzzy, but generally speaking, Second-Degree Murder requires proof of something beyond recklessness. 

What are the Penalties for Vehicular Manslaughter/Vehicular Homicide?

The penalties for Vehicular Manslaughter/Vehicular Homicide will depend on the charges and the circumstances. If you are charged with and convicted of Negligent Homicide (a Class 4 Felony), you could face from one year to three years and nine months in prison and could be assessed up to $150,000 in fines. If you are charged with and convicted of Manslaughter (a Class 2 Felony). You could face from three years to twelve years and six months in prison and could be assessed up to $150,00 in fines. 

If you are charged with and convicted of Second-Degree Murder (a Class 1 Felony), you could face from ten years to twenty-five years in prison and up to $150,000 in fines. If the victim was under the age of twelve, you could face life in prison, and if the victim was from twelve to fourteen years old, you could face from thirteen to twenty-seven years in prison. In any homicide that is driving-related, if your blood alcohol concentration was .15 percent or more at the time, this is considered an aggravating factor that could lead to a sentence on the higher end. 

Potential Defenses for Vehicular Manslaughter/Vehicular Homicide

Your specific defense will depend on your charges, as well as the facts and circumstances surrounding your case. Proper accident reconstruction is often extremely important when building your defense. One potential defense would be that the accident was not your fault, or even that it was the other person’s fault. 

Since it must be shown that you acted recklessly for charges of manslaughter, then your legal team would try to show that you did not act in a reckless manner. Since reckless behavior assumes you showed a conscious disregard for the safety of others, your attorney would show you did not deviate from the behavior another reasonable person would have exhibited, given the same set of circumstances. 

If a vehicle defect contributed to the accident, then this could shift the blame from you to the manufacturer of the automobile. Your attorney might bring in an engineer to determine if a vehicle defect was responsible for the accident, or an accident reconstructionist to show you did not directly cause the accident.

For charges of Negligent Homicide, your Arizona vehicular manslaughter attorney will show you did not ignore a substantial and unjustifiable risk through the use of challenging the evidence from the state and using a variety of investigative techniques and tools. If the prosecutor claims speed is a factor in the accident, then your attorney will try to show that your speed was not excessive and that a reasonable person would not think your speed was dangerous or could cause an accident. 

Your Arizona vehicular manslaughter lawyers could show that your Miranda rights were violated or that the police made other mistakes while investigating the accident. If the police coerced you into making a confession, then that confession could be suppressed, or if they denied you the right to contact an attorney, this could also be a defense to your charges. 

Call a Phoenix Vehicular Homicide Crimes Attorney Today

If you or somebody you love is facing vehicular homicide in the greater Phoenix metro area, Maricopa County including but not limited to Chandler, Tempe, Scottsdale or Gilbert, you need to contact an attorney immediately. Not any attorney will do and you likely need a team of Smart, Experienced, Aggressive, Determined lawyers that fight back at vehicular homicide charges. Now is the time for action and the time for Lee Ciccarelli and his team.

Do not speak to law enforcement officials or prosecutors until you have legal counsel by your side. At the Ciccarelli Law Offices, our team has a track record of success helping clients get through incredibly complex criminal defense cases. We know that the stakes are high, and we will use all of our resources to ensure you are treated fairly. When you need a Phoenix vehicular homicide attorney, reach out to our team today. We are determined to fight for our clients. It’s in our DNA to have your back and your Success is Our Mission. r vehicular manslaughter charges.