If you can show that your actions were accidental, you may be found not guilty.
As the saying goes, accidents happen. And yet in some cases, even when something is an accident, a person is charged with a crime for the outcome of that accident. For example, consider a situation where a car accident causes the death of another person. It may have been an accident — but depending on the facts of the case, a prosecutor may decide to charge the driver of the other car with vehicular manslaughter or another crime nevertheless.
Although you may be charged with a crime for an accident, a skilled California criminal defense attorney may be able to put on a defense based on a theory that your actions were accidental that could result in a not guilty verdict. Generally, this type of defense is successful if the following three elements can be proven:
- You had no criminal intent to do harm;
- You were not acting negligently; and
- You were engaged in legal conduct at the time of the accident.
If you put on a defense of accident, you will bear the burden of proving each of these elements to a jury.
How does this defense work? Let’s take the car accident situation described above. If you were driving the car that caused the accident, you would have to prove that you had no criminal intent to do harm (i.e., you weren’t trying to run anyone off the road), that you were not acting negligently (i.e., you weren’t drunk, texting while driving, etc.), and that you were engaged in legal conduct at the time of the accident (you were legally allowed to drive). If you can’t prove any of those elements — for example, if you were driving at a high rate of speed — then your defense will likely fail.
Certain crimes require that you act with either a specific or general intent. In other words, you must either specifically intend the result of your act — such as somebody dying or being hurt — or have the general intent to do harm. If you are charged with a crime that requires the prosecution prove intent, then a defense of accident will likely defeat the charge. If the prosecution cannot show that you intended a specific result — and you can show that you had no criminal intent — then you will likely be found not guilty.
If you are charged with a crime that is based on negligence rather than intent, then an “accident” defense will excuse your conduct as long as it was lawful and accidental. If you were not acting with a reckless disregard for human life, this defense will likely succeed. However, in the case of vehicular manslaughter, even ordinary negligence is sufficient under California law to be convicted of the crime; if you cause another person’s death because you are negligent while driving — even if you are not criminally negligent — you could be charged with this crime.
If you have been charged with any type of crime, you will need a skilled California criminal defense attorney to help defend you. Contact the Chambers Law Firm today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial consultation and learn how we will stand up for you.
