If you are deemed responsible for someone else’s death in Texas, it’s a serious legal matter, but the associated charge can vary considerably. At one end of the continuum is capital murder, which can carry a sentence of life without the possibility of parole or even the death penalty. At the other end is criminally negligent homicide, which relates to extreme negligence.
While criminally negligent homicide is the least severe of the homicide charges, it can still have serious consequences if you are convicted. If you’re facing a homicide charge or a criminal charge of any kind, you shouldn’t delay consulting with an experienced Round Rock criminal defense attorney.
Homicide Charges in Texas
The full range of homicide charges in the State of Texas includes each of the following offenses:
Capital murder, which relates to a murder that involves extenuating circumstances, such as murdering someone in the course of committing another felony or committing murder for pay
Murder, which refers to intentionally or knowingly killing someone else
Manslaughter, which refers to killing someone else as a result of recklessness
Criminally negligent homicide, which refers to killing someone else as a result of egregious negligence
The primary distinction between these is the defendant’s state of mind at the time the crime was committed. In the case of criminally negligent homicide, the state’s burden is limited to proving that the defendant was criminally negligent, which refers to engaging in a gross deviation from the standard of care that is generally employed.
This negligence can be classified further by distinguishing between civil negligence and criminal negligence. Civil negligence refers to an individual who causes someone else’s death by failing to exercise reasonable care, but criminally negligent homicide refers to an act of negligence that is considered particularly egregious or extreme.
When the Charge Is Criminally Negligent Homicide
The idea behind the charge of criminally negligent homicide is that the accused owed the victim some standard of care that they failed to live up to. For example, while you may believe that you did everything you could to prevent the victim’s death, the state could contend that you didn’t do enough and that your failure reached a criminal level of negligence.
Is It Criminally Negligent Homicide?
Criminally negligent homicide is sometimes called involuntary homicide or simply negligent homicide, but at its core, the charge refers to causing someone else to lose their life as a result of a deviation from the duty of care they were owed.
To reach this level of negligence, you must have recognized that your actions created a serious risk that wasn’t substantiated by any justification, such as if you were actively attempting to remove the person from harm’s way at the time.
In Texas, the charge of criminally negligent homicide can apply when one person’s extreme negligence causes someone else’s demise. Criminally negligent homicide includes the following basic elements:
Purposefully disregarding the safety regulations in place
Making the situation more dangerous by doing so
Causing someone else’s death in the process
If you are facing criminally negligent homicide charges, consult with a skilled criminal defense lawyer to determine if all of the elements are present and to start crafting your defense.
Common Examples
The following situations are common examples of when criminally negligent homicide is most likely to apply:
Intoxication by alcohol or drugs behind the wheel – there is also an intoxication manslaughter charge to consider
Vehicular homicide, such as when the at-fault driver was speeding excessively or was seriously distracted
Fraternity hazing
A child left in the car
A fight or some form of combat with another person
Failure to call emergency services, including serious hit-and-run cases
Criminal Negligence and Driving
When you drive, you owe everyone on the road a serious duty of care, and failure to uphold this responsibility is considered negligence. If the level of negligence assigned to you is determined to have been egregious – or to have established a substantial and unjustifiable risk given the situation – the charge of criminally negligent homicide can apply.
The level of negligence that is assigned is the deciding factor when it comes to distinguishing civil negligence – which does not carry a criminal sentence – from criminal negligence. The level must be uniquely egregious for criminally negligent homicide to apply but must reach the level of recklessness for the charge of manslaughter to hold.
In other words, the involved circumstances must be carefully considered in relation to the duty of care owed by the accused, which makes having skilled legal counsel on your side the right approach. Contact a knowledgeable lawyer to learn how negligence is likely to affect your case.
Charges that Are Vehicular Related
If you kill someone while behind the wheel of your car, you could face a criminal charge under certain circumstances.
Vehicular Manslaughter
If you cause someone else’s death due to recklessness, you could face the charge of vehicular manslaughter. For example, if you got drunk, got behind the wheel, and headed in the wrong direction on the roadway at top speeds, it could qualify as vehicular manslaughter, which is a second-degree felony that carries 5 to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000.
Intoxication Manslaughter
The charge of intoxication manslaughter relates to serious impairment behind the wheel that causes the driver to kill someone else in an accident, like in the example above. It is well established that driving drunk is a deadly practice, which makes purposeful engagement in the practice a form of recklessness.
The crime of intoxication manslaughter is generally charged as a second-degree felony, but if the victim is a police officer, a firefighter, or an EMT, the charge can be elevated to a first-degree felony, which carries 5 to 99 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000.
Criminally Negligent Homicide
The charge of criminally negligent homicide can also apply to car accidents. When it does, it refers to the driver engaging in a serious or egregious form of negligence.
For example, if you were driving in heavy traffic that required your careful attention, but you chose to text instead, you could potentially be charged with criminally negligent homicide if you caused a fatal accident in the process.
The charge is generally a state jail felony, which carries 6 months to 2 years in a state jail facility and fines of up to $10,000.
Manslaughter vs. Criminally Negligent Homicide
Both manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide differ from murder charges because they lack the intent to kill. However, the intention of the accused still plays a primary role in each charge.
For the charge of manslaughter, the accused must demonstrate reckless disregard for the other person’s safety. For the charge of criminally negligent homicide, the accused must demonstrate a lack of concern for the risk involved.
Let’s consider a simplified but tragic example. If a parent leaves a loaded gun out in the open where a child who is fascinated by guns can come across it and shoot it, it shows a serious lack of concern for gun safety. If anyone was killed in the process, a criminally negligent homicide charge is likely to be forthcoming.
While the parent didn’t actively harm the victim, they set the stage for the accident and did nothing to help prevent it.
If, on the other hand, the parent chooses to fire their gun in an area where they know children are present, and if it leads to tragic results, a manslaughter charge is likely to apply. In this case, the parent engaged in a deliberate act that put children in imminent danger – with utter disregard for the consequences.
Sentencing for Criminally Negligent Homicide
As mentioned, the charge of criminally negligent homicide is typically a state jail felony, which makes it a unique charge that is often misunderstood. If you are convicted of a state jail felony, you’ll face six months to two years in a state jail facility.
The state jail is different from the county jail, where defendants are held until they make bail and where those facing sentences of a year or less for misdemeanors serve their time. It is also not a state prison where those serving straight felony sentences serve their time.
State Jail Facilities
State jail facilities generally have more amenities and opportunities than county jails do. They also have much fewer security measures in place than a prison would. This form of incarceration is generally reserved for nonviolent offenders who aren’t facing more than a two-year sentence.
Unique Considerations
However, there are some unique considerations to keep in mind when it comes to state jail felonies. For example, you can’t be paroled, and you won’t qualify for time off for good behavior the way you might with a felony conviction.
However, there may be an opportunity to have the charge reduced to a Class A misdemeanor. This reduction is up to the judge’s discretion, and while you’ll face the legal consequences of a Class A misdemeanor, the charge will remain on your record as a felony – unless both the court and the prosecution agree to the reduction.
Those serving sentences for state jail felonies can also receive what is called diligent participation credit, which can reduce the total time served. This credit is earned by genuinely engaging in one or more of the following programs or similar programs that are designed to support rehabilitation:
Treatment for substance abuse or addiction
Work programs
Continuing education
Class A misdemeanors carry up to a year in a county jail and fines of up to $4,000. County jails are generally considered preferable to state jail facilities because the inmates are likely to be housed closer to their loved ones and have more opportunities to visit with them.
Protecting Your Rights
If you’re facing a criminally negligent homicide charge, protecting your rights throughout the process is key, and your formidable Round Rock criminal defense attorney will be well prepared to ably handle a wide range of primary tasks on your behalf.
Establishing Your Rights
Your skilled criminal defense attorney will ensure that you know your legal rights and that you invoke them. Your rights include the right to remain silent if you’re being questioned by the police and the right to have an attorney on your side. These are primary rights that can directly affect the outcome of your case.
Too many defendants think they can talk their way out of a charge only to discover they’ve fallen into a trap set by the detectives questioning them. It’s always to your advantage to remain quiet until after you consult with a focused criminal defense attorney.
Building Your Strongest Case
Your attorney will begin gathering all the evidence in your case right out of the gate, including anything that the prosecution or the police may be holding back. Your defense will hinge on the available evidence, and your attorney will leave no stone unturned in their quest to craft a complete assessment of your case, which will guide your defense.
Negotiating with the Prosecution
Your criminal defense attorney’s ultimate goal is to have the charge against you dropped. If the prosecution doesn’t have the evidence necessary to convict you – or if you have evidence that proves your innocence – this is a distinct possibility.
Barring this, your attorney will attempt to have the charge against you decreased – such as from a state jail felony to a Class A misdemeanor. When doing so is deemed advisable, they may also negotiate an advantageous plea deal that affords you a beneficial outcome – although it requires you to plead guilty to the decreased charge.
Being Well Prepared for Court
Most criminal cases are settled out of court, but when the circumstances are right, going to trial may be the preferred approach. If this is the case in your situation, your dedicated Round Rock criminal defense attorney will be more than ready to handle this challenge.
An Experienced Round Rock Criminal Defense Attorney Is Here to Help
Brett Pritchard at the Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a well-respected Round Rock criminal defense attorney with decades of imposing experience guiding challenging cases like yours toward optimal outcomes, and he welcomes the opportunity to help you also. For more information, please don’t wait to contact us online or call us at (254) 781-4222 and schedule a FREE consultation today.