DUI Manslaughter is a felony offense in the State of Florida whereby a person faces a maximum
penalty of fifteen years in prison. If a person is accused of both DUI
Manslaughter and leaving the scene of the accident, the person faces a
maximum penalty of thirty years in prison. Additionally, the legislature
added a mandatory minimum penalty of four years in prison for any person
who is convicted of DUI Manslaughter. This means, if convicted, a Judge
cannot sentence a person to less than four years in Florida State Prison.
With so much hanging over a person’s head, what are the chances
for success? Typically, a DUI
manslaughter charge comes down to two main issues. First, in almost every DUI manslaughter
charge there should be some type of blood alcohol analysis.
DUI ATTORNEYS IN MIAMI
The blood alcohol results may come from two different sources. First, the
individual most likely gave a legal blood draw. In addition, the hospital
probably conducted a blood draw for medical purposes. Thus, the first
issue deals with the reliability as well as admissibility of the blood
test. I use the term admissibility to point out that simply because evidence
exists does not automatically mean that it can be used in trial as evidence.
Now more than ever, the admissibility of a blood sample is being challenged,
most often because of the failure to secure a search warrant. In addition,
as it relates to a blood draw for medical treatment purposes, a privacy
issue exists with regards to law enforcement’s ability to secure
an individual’s medical records. While over simplified, the above
information is an explanation of the first issue that typically exists in a
DUI manslaughter charge. A person charged with DUI manslaughter is usually injured. Many times,
the individual is taken to a medical facility. Thus, components like field
sobriety testing which would otherwise make up a typical driving under
the influence case do not exist in the majority of manslaughter cases.
As a result, the blood analysis becomes a crucial part of a
DUI crash involving death. The second issue which presents itself in the majority
of DUI manslaughter cases involves causation. Specifically, the burden
is on the State of Florida to prove beyond and to the exclusion of every
reasonable doubt that regardless of the blood alcohol results, the driver
either caused or contributed to the accident. Over the years,
Parks & Braxton has handled cases whereby the accident was caused by the driver of the
other vehicle. At the same time, our office has handled cases where the
vehicle itself was defective. This issue often requires an expert in accident
reconstruction. As stated earlier, the purpose of this article is to give
the reader a better understanding of the general topics that surround
the charge of DUI manslaughter. If you have any specific questions concerning
the charge of DUI Manslaughter in Florida, feel free to call
Parks & Braxton.