Unintentionally killing another while committing a crime, not necessarily a dangerous felony, summaries involuntary manslaughter. Further, the definition includes unintentional deaths that resulted from lawful acts with the potential of resulting in the death of another. Involuntary manslaughter results in lesser penalties when compared to other types of homicide, including murder and voluntary manslaughter. However, the penalties are severe enough to affect your life adversely. Therefore, it is important to reach out to an experienced Santa Ana criminal attorney early, if you are facing involuntary manslaughter charges. California Criminal Lawyer Group can help fight off these charges.

Involuntary Manslaughter — Overview

Pursuant to PC 192(b), an involuntary manslaughter conviction requires some aspects of the crime to be true. These elements include the following:

  • You committed an infarction, a misdemeanor, a crime not categorized as a dangerous felony, or were involved in a lawful act conducted in an illegal manner
  • You were criminally negligent in your actions, and
  • Another died from your actions

Committing a Crime or a Lawful Act in an Illegal Manner

Prosecutors need to demonstrate the misdemeanor violation, infraction, or crime you committed. Committing the aforementioned violations or wrongful acts addresses your willfulness, which is critical. It, therefore, follows that accidental actions will not be considered under this element.

On the matter of crimes not inherently dangerous felonies, the courts seek to address whether your actions aggravated the situation that led to the death of your victim. If you committed a dangerous felony, your actions increased the likelihood of death beyond the level non-dangerous felonies pose. If proven, you will then face felony murder charges as opposed to involuntary manslaughter.

Criminal Negligence

Criminal negligence goes beyond ordinary inattention, error in judgment, or ordinary carelessness. It encompasses actions that are a departure from the actions of a reasonable individual. Prosecutors must prove that your actions lacked caution and circumspection. The following best describes this:

  • Your reckless actions created a high risk of great bodily injury or death
  • A reasonable individual would have known that such actions would result in a significant risk of bodily injury or death

You Caused Another’s Death

The resulting death in your case should be a direct, natural, or probable consequence of your actions. It further means that the death was unlikely had it not been for your efforts.

Legal Duty and Involuntary Manslaughter

Involuntary manslaughter in duty-bound relationships requires the prosecutor to establish the legal duty, an element lacking in the general involuntary manslaughter cases. Further, prosecutors should show that the involuntary manslaughter resulted from your failure to perform your legal duty. The risk of your conviction increase if prosecutors prove the following:

  • You were duty-bound to the victim.
  • You failed to fulfill the legal duty.
  • Your failure amounts to criminal negligence and
  • Your failure resulted in the death of your victim.

For example, Jane leaves her baby locked up in the car to go shopping. The vehicle is left out in the open parking lot under the summer heat. The temperature is so severe, and the restricted circulation of air causes the baby to suffocate and die.

Jane failed in her legal duty by not exercising reasonable care. She ought not to have left the baby unattended. Further, leaving the car under the scorching heat with the baby inside points to criminal negligence, and the unfolding events led to the baby’s eventual death. In this case, Jane is criminally liable.  

The legal duty is determined by the judge and not the jury. Once established, the judge will inform the jury and direct them accordingly. Some examples of duty-bound relationships include parent-children relationships, two individuals in a relationship, employees and their employers, and paid caretakers and those they care for.

How Involuntary Manslaughter Compares to Murder and Voluntary Manslaughter

Murder and manslaughter are all homicide cases. Murder refers to the killing of another with malice aforethought. The definition includes all premeditated murders and murders carried out during the commission of serious felonies (felony murders). Manslaughter, on the other hand, lacks malice aforethought.

Manslaughter can either be voluntary or involuntary. You commit voluntary manslaughter if you kill another during a sudden argument or in the heat of the moment. You did intend to harm your victim but not to kill them. These are the elements that involuntary manslaughter lacks. However, as is the case with murder and voluntary manslaughter, there is a disregard of human life in involuntary manslaughter cases.

Since the elements of the crime are different between murder and manslaughter, the penalties too differ. Murder cases are categorized into three, and each is penalized differently. First-degree murder offenders are sent to prison to serve out 25 years to life without the possibility of parole. For capital murder offenders, their punishment includes the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Finally, second-degree murder offenders face 15 years to life in prison. 

As of March 12, 2019, the death penalty was temporarily suspended by Governor Gavin Newsom.

As for voluntary manslaughter, offenders will serve out a 3, 6, or 11-year prison sentence upon conviction.

Penalties Involuntary Manslaughter Convictions Attract

Involuntary manslaughter’s penalties are not as severe as those convicted of murder and voluntary manslaughter offenders face. However, they are still significant. If convicted, you could spend up to 2 or 4 years in jail. Additionally, you will have to part with up to $10,000 in fines.

If you accidentally kill another using a firearm or a deadly weapon, the crime automatically becomes a strikeable offense. A conviction results in a strike on your criminal record, pursuant to California’s Three Strike Law. If you have prior strikeable offenses in your record, your current sentence for involuntary manslaughter will be doubled. A third strike increases your prison sentence to 25 years to life.

As is the case with other felony convictions, you will lose your gun rights if found guilty. That means you cannot possess or own a gun. Doing so will violate PC 12021, thus risking being charged with another felony.

While the above jail/prison terms and fines remain the prescribed penalties for the crime, the judge decides on the actual penalties. He/she can issue lighter or harsher sentences based on his/her evaluation of mitigating or aggravating factors.

Mitigating factors ease the severity of the penalties. They include:

  • The facts and circumstances of the case
  • Little to no criminal history
  • Any physical or mental illness
  • Show of genuine remorse for or accepting responsibility for the crime
  • Your ability to reform upon conviction
  • Your contribution to the community

Conversely, aggravating factors increase the severity of your punishment. The judge will take into account:

  • Your criminal history
  • If the victim was an elderly person, an individual with a mental illness or physical disability, or a minor
  • If the victim was a police officer or peace officer

Do note, the victim’s loved ones may pursue a wrongful death case against you. Wrongful death cases are pursuant to California’s Civil Procedure Code 377.60-377.62. The cases seek civil liability and damages if the victim wrongfully died due to your negligent actions.

Defense Arguments Used in Involuntary Manslaughter Cases

Prosecutors need to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Defense strategies aim at establishing reasonable doubt. If successful, all charges may be dropped, or you may end up pleading guilty to lesser charges and serve lesser penalties by extension. The likelihood of either outcome increases with legal representation.

Criminal defense attorneys have a variety of defenses to use depending on the circumstances of your case. Here are a few options.

The Death Was an Accident

Recall that criminal negligence is pivotal for a conviction. In its absence, involuntary manslaughter charges will be dropped because the case can be argued as accidental. In most cases, involuntary manslaughter cases are accidental because defendants do not aim at killing their victims. However, your attorney needs to substantiate that the death was an accident.

Your attorney will demonstrate that you lacked criminal intent to cause harm to the victim. Further, your actions at the time of the accidental killing lacked criminal negligence. Additionally, your attorney will show that you were engaged in a legal activity at the time of the accident. All three aspects support your accidental death defense.     

You Acted in Self-Defense or Defense of Others

The standard used in this defense is what a reasonable individual would believe to be true. Therefore, if the following are true, your attorney will use self-defense or defense of others in your case.

  • You reasonably believed you or another was in mortal danger or at risk of suffering great bodily harm, being robbed or raped.
  • You believed that immediate force was necessary to avert the danger you or another faced.
  • You applied force that was reasonably necessary to defend yourself or another against the perceived danger.

All three facts need to be substantiated for you not to be found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Lack of Sufficient Evidence

Prosecutors rely on police investigation reports. Police bias cannot be ruled out when they conduct their investigations. If they rule the killing as manslaughter, the evidence they gather and the interviews they conduct will support their assumption. Therefore, their evidence is questionable.

Credible criminal defense attorneys conduct their independent investigations aiming at establishing the truth. In some cases, the evidence they gather points in a different direction than involuntary manslaughter or you as the culprit.

Conflicting eyewitness accounts and incorrect forensic analysis are some of the issues your attorney will introduce in court in support of the lack of sufficient evidence defense.

You are a Victim of False Accusation

Anger, jealousy, and a quest for revenge push the victim’s family or their loved ones to falsely accuse another as the involuntary manslaughter culprit. The actual perpetrators of the crime could also point to you as the culprit to cover their tracks.

Misidentification of a suspect is also possible. In other situations, detectives may ask leading questions to the victim’s family and friends. This unintentionally causes the interviewees to point you as the suspect as they look to conclude the matter. All these are possibilities that could land you in prison without the help of a credible criminal attorney.

Experienced criminal attorneys know how best to address these false accusation claims. Evidence gathered by their team will be used to support your false accusation defense.

Crimes Related to Involuntary

In some cases, prosecutors may have sufficient evidence to pursue involuntary manslaughter charges to their logical conclusion. In other instances, they may introduce additional charges or opt to prosecute you for crimes related to involuntary manslaughter. These crimes include murder, voluntary manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, and involuntary vehicular manslaughter.

Since we addressed murder and manslaughter above, let us look at vehicular manslaughter and involuntary vehicular manslaughter.

Vehicular Manslaughter — PC 192(c)

Unlawfully driving a vehicle and causing the death of another is vehicular manslaughter. PC 192(c)’s definition of vehicular manslaughter also includes negligent driving that results in the death of another. The vehicle is the critical element in PC 192(c) violations.

Text driving, speeding, driving past a stop sign are all elements that increase the potential of causing an accident and point to negligence on your part while driving. Prosecutors look for gross negligence, which is pivotal in finding you guilty of vehicular manslaughter.

PC 192(c) requires prosecutors to demonstrate the following.

  • You committed an infraction or a misdemeanor while driving the vehicle, or you committed a legal act in a manner likely to cause the death of another.
  • Your actions endangered human life
  • Your deeds point to gross negligence
  • Your actions resulted in the death of another

An Infraction, Misdemeanor, or a Legal Act Committed in a Manner Likely to Cause the Death of Another

Prosecutors must prove that you committed a crime other than a felony when the accident happened. If you committed a felony at the time of the death of another, prosecutors would pursue a murder conviction under the felony-murder rule.

Alternatively, you could have acted lawfully but in a manner likely to cause the death of another. For example, It is legal to use a hands-free communication device while driving. However, your conversations distract you hence compromising your attentiveness while driving. This then increases the likelihood of an accident.

Gross Negligence

In most cases, prosecutors aim for a felony conviction. They, however, need to prove you were grossly negligent in your actions. Failure to do so may mean your actions amount to ordinary negligence. Hence, you will be found guilty of a misdemeanor violation.   

Ordinary negligence refers to an error in judgment, inattentiveness, or ordinary carelessness. Gross negligence, on the other hand, is severe. It occurs if:

  • You acted recklessly, thus creating a high risk of significant bodily injury or the death of another
  • A reasonable person would conclude that behaving in such a manner would result in such a risk

The courts rely on what a reasonable person’s actions would have been when in a similar situation. Further, your actions should also show a disregard for human life. If both elements are established, you could be found guilty of vehicular manslaughter.

Causing the Death of Another

The death of another under PC 192(c) should be a natural or probable consequence or the direct result of your actions. A reasonable person’s actions are the standard when addressing the natural or probable elements of the death.

For example, Paula and Shauna are driving in Paula’s car at night. They run a red light, and the police attempt to pull them over. However, Paula speeds up to avoid an arrest. Her speeding and near-collisions with other vehicles are too scary an experience for Shauna. Shauna later has a heart attack and dies.

Paula’s behavior was grossly negligent and illegal. However, she is not guilty of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence since Shauna’s death was not a natural or probable consequence of her driving. 

It is worth noting that gross negligence does not have to be the only cause of death for you to be found guilty of vehicular manslaughter. It should, however, be a substantial contributing factor in the death of another.

For example, Bob, while speeding in a residential area at night, fails to yield at a stop sign and hits a pedestrian. He speeds away, leaving the pedestrian unconscious. Another vehicle runs over the pedestrian, killing him.   

Bob could be found guilty of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence because of his actions: speeding, failing to yield, and subsequently hitting the deceased. They significantly contributed to the victim’s death even if they were not the direct cause of the victim’s death.

Based on the circumstances in your case, prosecutors can pursue three of PC 192(c) violations.

  • PC 192(C)(1), vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence
  • PC 192(C)(2), misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, or
  • PC 192(C)(3), vehicular manslaughter for financial gain

A PC 192(C)(3) violation occurs when the following are true.

  • You knowingly participate in a collision when driving the vehicle
  • You intentionally cause a crash to file a false insurance claim
  • You aimed at defrauding another or the insurance company
  • The collision caused the death of another — This means another was killed while you deliberately wrecked the car to commit insurance fraud

Penalties for a PC 192(c) Violation

You will be punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000 and a jail sentence of up to one year if convicted for a PC 192(C)(1) misdemeanor violation. The judge can issue summary probation terms in place of jail time. Felony convictions result in formal probation or a prison term of 2, 4, or 6 years and a fine of up to $10,000.

A PC 192(C)(2) conviction will result in misdemeanor probation or a jail sentence of up to one year. Further, you will be required to pay a fine not exceeding $1,000.

If convicted of PC 192(C)(3) violation, you could spend up to 4, 6, or 10 years in prison and be required to pay $10,000 in fines.

Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated  — PC 191.5(a)

Driving a vehicle with gross negligence while intoxicated and killing another in the process is a crime and a violation of PC 191.5(a).

For you to be guilty under PC 191.5(a), prosecutors must prove that you were grossly negligent and that you were intoxicated. Intoxication covers both alcohol and drugs.

Officers will administer Field Sobriety Tests to determine your impairment level. They can further administer a blood alcohol (BAC) test. Any BAC reading above 0.08 or 0.05 or higher for individuals under 21 years of age is illegal. Both are a violation of VC 23152(b) and VC 23140, respectively.

Actions that amount to gross negligence are similar to those under PC 192(c), as detailed above.

Penalties for Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated  

PC 191.5(a) violations are felonies. A conviction will result in:

  • Formal probation,
  • 4, 6, or 10 years in prison if formal probation was denied, and
  • A fine of up to $10,000

Any prior convictions result in heftier penalties. Judges consider priors of the following offenses:

  • Vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, a PC 191.5(a) violation,
  • Gross vehicular manslaughter, a PC 192(c) violation,
  • Vehicular manslaughter while operating a boat, under PC 192.5(a) or (b)
  • DUI under VC 23152, or
  • DUI causing injury under VC 23153

Any priors result in a 15 years-to-life prison sentence under PC 191.5(a).

Contact a Reliable Santa Ana Criminal Attorney Near Me

Involuntary manslaughter penalties are devastating. The likelihood of a conviction for the crime increases without proper legal counsel. An experienced attorney’s representation could result in a dismissal, reduction of charges, and consequently, a reduction of the penalties. California Criminal Lawyer Group brings on board years of experience in defending clients facing involuntary manslaughter charges in Santa Ana. Give us a call today at 714-844-4151 for a case evaluation.