Homicide, Murder & Vehicular Manslaughter

Under California law, “homicide” includes a broad range of conduct, from intentional murders to fatal car accidents. The range of possible punishments is also broad, from a misdemeanor offense punishable by one year in jail to life in prison or the death penalty. (Penal Code sections 190, 193(c)). The attorneys at Nolan Barton Olmos & Luciano have the experience, skill and resources to handle any homicide case. 

The most serious homicides are murders, either first or second degree. First-degree murders are killings that are planned, or that occur during some other dangerous crime (such as when a store clerk is unexpectedly killed during a robbery). (Penal Code sections 187, 189.) Second-degree murders are killings that are not planned but happen in the spur of the moment, or killings that occur while a person is doing something inherently dangerous to human life. (Penal Code section 189.)

Although many homicide cases, including vehicular manslaughter, resolve before trial, attorneys at Nolan Barton Olmos & Luciano have successfully defended numerous clients charged with homicides at trial.

Deaths from fatal car accidents are often prosecuted as homicides and can be charged as misdemeanors or felonies. A person who drives negligently or commits a traffic infraction and causes a death can be charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. (Penal Code section 192(c)(2).) If the driving is grossly negligent, the charge can become a felony vehicular manslaughter. (Penal Code section 192(c)(1).) Other felony offenses apply if the driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident. (Simple negligence – Penal Code section 191.5(b); gross negligence – Penal Code section 191.5(a).) If the driver has prior convictions for driving under the influence, or if the driving is extremely dangerous, the District Attorney's office can prosecute the driver for murder. (Penal Code section 187.)

Homicides also include voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. (Penal Code section 192.) These are less serious offenses than murder and apply when there is something about the killing that makes it less deserving of severe punishment. For example, if the victim provokes a person to an intense emotional state and the person kills the victim out of passion, the killing would be voluntary manslaughter, not murder. (Penal Code section 192.) It is also voluntary manslaughter, not murder, to kill someone because a person believed they had to act in self-defense, but that belief was not reasonable. Our attorneys defend people charged with manslaughter and, when appropriate, work to resolve murder charges by reducing them to manslaughter.  

Although many homicide cases, including vehicular manslaughter, resolve before trial, attorneys at Nolan Barton Olmos & Luciano have successfully defended numerous clients charged with homicides at trial. The firm has won outright acquittals in homicide cases, including cases of vehicular manslaughter and several cases involving charges of murder, as well as favorable outcomes of not guilty by reason of insanity and convictions of lesser offenses. The firm has the resources and expertise to defend clients accused of any kind of homicide, from misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter to the most serious offenses.