His entire career has been in the courtroom. He doesn’t draft wills, represent businesses or divorces. Just criminal defense and personal injury work.
Here are the applicable Utah Automobile manslaughter laws:
Elements of Utah Automobile Homicide.
(1). You were driving a vehicle, and
(2). You accidentally (negligently) killed someone while driving your car. Passengers, other car drivers, pedestrians, and
(3). You were under the influence of drugs, alcohol or a combination of both, or had a blood alcohol level of .05 at the time of the breathalyzer or while operating the car.
2nd Degree Felony. It is a 2nd Degree Felony if you commit gross criminal negligence and you kill another person with your car, OR,
It is a 2nd Degree Automobile Homicide if you have a prior DUI countable driving under the influence type of conviction prior to the subject Automobile Homicide charges.
3rd Degree Felony. It is a 3rd Degree Felony if you commit simple criminal negligence and you kill another person with your car.
To be convicted of any crime in Utah and around the United States, you must have a guilty mind and commit a guilty act. In law school language, it’s “Mens Rea and Actus Reas.” The Mens Rea is the required criminal mindset. The Actus Reas is the criminal act itself.
Utah criminal law defines simple negligence as:
“[t]he failure to exercise that degree of care that reasonable and prudent persons exercise under like or similar circumstances.” See Utah Code Ann. 76-5-207(2)(c) (2020).
Utah criminal law defines criminal gross negligence as:
“With criminal negligence or is criminally negligent with respect to circumstances surrounding his conduct or the result of his conduct when he ought to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur. The risk must be of a nature and degree that the failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise in all the circumstances as viewed from the actor’s standpoint.” See Utah Code Ann. 76-2-103(4) (2020).
Each of these examples could be argued to be or not to be criminal negligence depending on who you speak to. Either way, it is your Automobile Homicide Utah criminal defense attorney’s job to convey to the jury what actually happened in your case.
Proven, experienced Utah Automobile Homicide defense attorneys can make the difference between a 2nd Degree Felony conviction or a 3rd Degree Felony conviction. What is gross versus simple negligence can be hotly contested between jurors back in (i) driving under the influence under Section 41-6a-502;
A conviction for Automobile Homicide will revoke your driver’s license. You are eligible for a limited license under Utah Code Ann. 53-3-220(4) (2020).
Enchanceable Offense: A prior Automobile Homicide conviction will enhance your current Automobile Homicide charges to a 2nd Degree Felony. The following prior driving under the influence convictions, regardless of how long ago they occurred, will enhance your Automobile Homicide to a 2nd Degree Felony:
(1) Certain “wet” Reckless Driving prior to 06/01/2008.
(2) DUIs.
(3) Impaired Driving committed after 06/01/2008.
(4) Metabolite drugged driving.
(5) Any local ordinance, or out-of-state conviction that is substantially similar to a countable Utah conviction.
(6) Prior Automobile Homicide.
(7) A countable prior offense that is reduced in severity post-judgement via Utah Code Ann. 76-3-402 (2020), or
(8) refusal of a chemical test under Subsection 41-6a-520(7) (2020).
If you cause a fatal car accident while using your cell phone, you can also be charged with Automobile Homicide. Utah Code Ann. 76-5-207.5 (2020) states it is a 2nd Degree Felony if you drive your car in a grossly criminal negligent manner, causing a death, while using your cell phone. It is a 3rd Degree Felony if you drive your car in a negligent matter, causing a death, while using your cell phone.
Simple v. Gross Criminal Negligence. There is always a debate on whether your driving was gross negligence or simple negligence. The devil is in the details which makes one driving pattern gross negligence, versus a simple rear-end car collision. Details matter and your chosen Automobile Homicide attorney must be skilled at drawing them out—creating reasonable doubt.
Cause of the Fatal Car Accident. There can be debate as to whether you caused the fatal car collision, or did someone else cause your car to veer off the road and kill the other person. Just because you are driving under the influence and a terrible, fatal, car accident occurs, doesn’t mean you caused the fatality. The prosecution must show you caused the vehicular fatalities beyond a reasonable doubt—no other source can cause it.
Effective 12/30/2018
(1) As used in this section:
(a) “Drug” or “drugs” means:
(i) a controlled substance as defined in Section 58-37-2;
(ii) a drug as defined in Section 58-17b-102; or
(iii) any substance that, when knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly taken into the human body, can impair the ability of a person to safely operate a motor vehicle.
(b) “Motor vehicle” means any self-propelled vehicle and includes any automobile, truck, van, motorcycle, train, engine, watercraft, or aircraft.
(2)
(a) Criminal homicide is automobile homicide, a third degree felony, if the person operates a motor vehicle in a negligent manner causing the death of another and:
(i) has sufficient alcohol in his body that a subsequent chemical test shows that the person has a blood or breath alcohol concentration of .05 grams or greater at the time of the test;
(ii) is under the influence of alcohol, any drug, or the combined influence of alcohol and any drug to a degree that renders the person incapable of safely operating a vehicle; or
(iii) has a blood or breath alcohol concentration of .05 grams or greater at the time of operation.
(b) A conviction for a violation of this Subsection (2) is a second degree felony if it is subsequent to a conviction as defined in Subsection 41-6a-501(2).
(c) As used in this Subsection (2), “negligent” means simple negligence, the failure to exercise that degree of care that reasonable and prudent persons exercise under like or similar circumstances.
(3)
(a) Criminal homicide is automobile homicide, a second degree felony, if the person operates a motor vehicle in a criminally negligent manner causing the death of another and:
(i) has sufficient alcohol in his body that a subsequent chemical test shows that the person has a blood or breath alcohol concentration of .05 grams or greater at the time of the test;
(ii) is under the influence of alcohol, any drug, or the combined influence of alcohol and any drug to a degree that renders the person incapable of safely operating a vehicle; or
(iii) has a blood or breath alcohol concentration of .05 grams or greater at the time of operation.
(b) As used in this Subsection (3), “criminally negligent” means criminal negligence as defined by Subsection 76-2-103(4).
(4) The standards for chemical breath analysis as provided by Section 41-6a-515 and the provisions for the admissibility of chemical test results as provided by Section 41-6a-516 apply to determination and proof of blood alcohol content under this section.
(5) Calculations of blood or breath alcohol concentration under this section shall be made in accordance with Subsection 41-6a-502(1).
(6) The fact that a person charged with violating this section is or has been legally entitled to use alcohol or a drug is not a defense.
(7) Evidence of a defendant’s blood or breath alcohol content or drug content is admissible except when prohibited by Rules of Evidence or the constitution.
(8) A person is guilty of a separate offense for each victim suffering bodily injury or serious bodily injury as a result of the person’s violation of Section 41-6a-502 or death as a result of the person’s violation of this section whether or not the injuries arise from the same episode of driving.
76-5-207.5. Automobile homicide involving using a handheld wireless communication device while driving.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) “Criminally negligent” means criminal negligence as defined by Subsection 76-2-103(4).
(b) “Handheld wireless communication device” has the same meaning as defined in Section 41-6a-1716.
(c) “Motor vehicle” means any self-propelled vehicle and includes any automobile, truck, van, motorcycle, train, engine, watercraft, or aircraft.
(d) “Negligent” means simple negligence, the failure to exercise that degree of care that reasonable and prudent persons exercise under like or similar circumstances.
(2) Criminal homicide is automobile homicide, a third degree felony, if the person operates a moving motor vehicle in a negligent manner:
(a) while using a handheld wireless communication device in violation of Section 41-6a-1716; and
(b) causing the death of another person.
(3) Criminal homicide is automobile homicide, a second degree felony, if the person operates a moving motor vehicle in a criminally negligent manner:
(a) while using a handheld wireless communication device in violation of Section 41-6a-1716; and
(b) causing the death of another person.
Amended by Chapter 193, 2012 General Session
