What Charges Can Someone Face In An Accident Involving A DUI?

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When a person is involved in an accident involving a DUI, they can face three separate charges. One charge is DUI with an accident, which is a misdemeanor. The second charge is DUI with serious bodily injury, which could result in a felony conviction as well as five years in prison. The third charge is DUI manslaughter, which is a second degree felony with up to 15 years in prison.

What Charges And Penalties Can Someone Face If They Accidentally Killed Someone While DUI?

If a person’s intoxication played any part in an accident that resulted in the death of a person, then they can face a charge of DUI manslaughter and up to 15 years in prison. That is true whether or not the intoxicated individual was at fault for the accident. In felony court, there is a guideline scoresheet. The guideline scoresheet can very well score into the eight or nine-year mark. At the bottom end of the guideline scoresheet, there are ways to go about having the court vary from the guidelines. There is actually a video on the website that shows us arguing in front of the Supreme Court for the court to go below the guidelines. We were successful in that argument.

Are There Always Going To Be Multiple Charges In A DUI Involving Death Or Injury?

If a DUI involves a death or an injury, they will charge the individual with a DUI with serious bodily injury or a DUI with manslaughter. Those penalties are enhanced by a section of the scoresheet in the felonies for specific injuries. In other words, they are enhanced depending on whether or not the injuries were severe and/or resulted in death. That’s what brings out the bottom end of the guidelines. The guidelines are meant to rein the judge’s ability to go easy on a defendant. There are very specific reasons for a judge to go below a guideline. If a defendant is not in that situation and doesn’t have a defense to the case, then they really need to look at those reasons and see what they can do to get the judge to go below the guidelines.

How Do You Advise And Console Clients Facing Multiple DUI Related Charges?

When a person is facing a felony charge, particularly of DUI manslaughter, there is a lot of guilt and anxiety involved. Many defendants feel helpless because they are uninformed and have not been given all of the options. There are always options, and there is no pre-ordained resolution or formula to follow. There is always something we can do; we just need to sit down and figure out what and how we are going to do it.

What Additional Charges Can Someone Face If They Have A Minor Child In The Car While DUI?

It’s possible for the state to charge a defendant with additional child endangerment charges. Realistically, they are not going to do that because the DUI statute is very specific in the facts as to what’s happening out there. However, if a child is injured, then additional felony charges would come about depending on the circumstances. Was the child in his or her car seat? What was the actual driving pattern? What were the breath results? What were the blood results? The more aggravated it is, the greater chance there is that they are going to seek additional charges and put the defendant under scrutiny and in jeopardy.

What Enhancement Can Someone Face If Their Blood Alcohol Concentration is Double Or Treble The Legal Limit?

Enhancement for the blood alcohol content level begins at a BAC of 0.15. The legal limit is 0.08. If a person’s legal blood test is at or above 0.15, then there are specific enhancements. The higher the defendant’s BAC, the harder the prosecutor is going to attempt to prosecute them.

Can Enhanced DUI Charges Ever Be Reduced To Less Serious Offenses?

Having a DUI reduced to a lesser charge is the golden chalice of the DUI practice. It’s one of the primary tools that we use to try to get someone out of trouble for a DUI. If a case is triable, meaning that the state thinks that they could win at trial, then they aren’t going to do anything for us in the way of reducing the charge. However, if we pose the threat of winning at trial and the state sees a weakness in their case, they may very well offer a reduced charge. For example, they may reduce a DUI charge to a charge of reckless driving, which would greatly aid us in coming to a better resolution. For a charge of reckless driving, the penalties are almost always less than the penalties for DUI. In addition, not having a conviction for DUI on a record is obviously a significant benefit.

For more information on Accidents Involving DUI In Florida, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (239) 263-4384 today.