In California, an individual can be charged with manslaughter if their conduct, while not intentional, was so reckless as to amount to criminal negligence. Criminal negligence is acting without a reasonable regard for human life or indifference to the consequences of that act. In this matter Mr. Ocampo is alleged to have run a stop sign and run into the victims’ vehicle.

Vehicular manslaughter charges (Penal Code Section 192(b)) can be alleged in two different ways: The first way is that a person may be not have broken any law or traffic infraction but may have been doing something legal (driving down the street) but still acted with criminal negligence (not paying attention to what is in front of him). In so doing he might run over a child who was in the street in plain view. This could lead to a charge of vehicular manslaughter.

The more commonly prosecuted case is when a person breaks a vehicle code section like the drunk driving law, speeding law or as is the situation here, run a stop sign. Any violation of the law which led to the death of someone can be the basis for a vehicular manslaughter charge if the death of the victim was a necessary and probable consequence of breaking that law or infraction.

In this case, the Prosecution may be hard pressed to show that running a stop sign is something that the Defendant should have known directly, naturally and probably would result in death. For example, what if the Defendant is very familiar with the area and the stop sign is in a remote place with little traffic? In that situation he could argue the deaths of these individuals was not a probable consequence. On the other hand, someone who drives on the freeway drunk would probably be seen as acting sufficient recklessly to be found criminally negligent. Vehicular manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 6 years in prison.

Hit and Run (Vehicle Code Sections 20001-20003) involves any situation where the Defendant has an accident and fails to remain at the scene and exchange information with the other party OR fails to call the authorities to report the matter. Generally speaking an accident must be reported within two hours. Most Hit and Run cases are misdemeanors as they involve property damage only. However, an individual who flees the scene after killing people in a vehicular manslaughter situation faces an additional 5 years in prison if he does not stay at the scene to talk with authorities and render aid to the victims if possible. The idea being that the victims of the crime may benefit from the Defendant calling authorities and/or the ambulance and otherwise rendering aid.

Criminal Law Updates the Law Offices of Orange County Criminal Defense Attorney William W. Bruzzo (714) 547-4636.

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Baseball season has commenced and for Dodger fans it was a harsh opening day. In an effort to curtail violence and more minor disturbances the LAPD made their presence known during tailgating. Officials took a stricter approach after last year’s opening when someone was stabbed and several fights broke out. Capt Bill Murphy of the LAPD explained to the Los Angeles Times that last year’s incident created much criticism toward the department and the baseball franchise for allowing such a disruptive atmosphere at a baseball game. Based on the article by the Los Angeles Times several fans were upset by the strict attitude of the police. Their view was that several tailgaters were drinking but were not hurting anyone and that more attention should be given to rowdy fans during the game. The number of arrests during tailgating was 132, with people cited for drinking in public and disorderly behavior. Both fans and police want a safe Dodger game experience they just differ on the means to achieve it. See Penal Code Sections 415, 647(f).

As the holidays are upon us now is a good time to consider the effects of drinking and driving and how you can avoid an arrest or causing an accident. My experience comes from 15 years of legal representation.

Even though the legal limit in California and many other states is a 0.08 blood-alcohol level most forensic toxicologist (folks who study the effect of alcohol on the body) will say that alcohol really starts to effect people at the 0.05 blood-alcohol level. Almost half of the legal limit! Under California Law even if you are under the 0.08 level you can still be prosecuted for driving under the influence if it can be shown that alcohol in your system impaired your driving. Some people can suffer physical impairment from alcohol at levels lower then other people. While it is important to know your limits it is much more important to count the number of drinks you have ingested over a particular time frame so nothing is left to chance. What follows is a general guide for deciding based on your weight, number of drinks and amount of time, whether you should drive.

First we have to start with ground rules: (1) a 12 ounce beer, a shot (normal size) and a 4 ounce glass of wine all have the same amount of alcohol and will effect you almost entirely the same; (2) every hour your body will burn off the equivalent of the alcohol in a 12 ounce beer, a shot or a 4 ounce glass of wine through the natural metabolism process of the body. That is, your body will naturally eliminate one of each of those amounts of alcohol about every hour. We get drunk when we drink in excess of what our body can eliminate in a given time frame.

The best way to illustrate how much we can drink is to use examples. Remember, these are approximations but they give a pretty good idea of when you may be intoxicated for driving.

(1) First subject: 110 lbs person (man or woman does not matter) drinks 2 twelve ounce beer starting at 7:00 p.m. and finish drinking both beers at 7:45 p.m. What is the person’s blood alcohol level at 8:00 p.m.? If you weigh around 110 lbs every alcoholic beverage you ingest will peak at a blood alcohol level of about 0.03 when the beverage is fully absorbed and before elimination. So by 8:00 p.m. that first beer will have been fully absorbed and eliminated from the body, which will leave one beer still in the system and thus the person will have a blood alcohol level of about 0.03.

(2) Second subject: 190 lbs. person drinks 3 twelve ounce beers and 3 shots of tequila (6 drinks total) starting at 7:00 pm and finishing the last drink of alcohol at 7:45 p.m. What is the person’s blood alcohol level at 8:00 pm? If you weigh 190 lbs one twelve ounce beer or shot will raise your blood alcohol about 0.02. So by 8:00 p.m. one of the drinks will have been eliminated which means there are still five drinks in the system which means the individual’s blood alcohol level will be approximately .08-.10. This level is over the limit of course and many forensic toxicologists will say that driving may be impaired at 0.05. or about half that amount.

The elimination of alcohol varies from person to person so the rate for one person may differ slightly from another. Also, if you are unsure of how many drinks you have then waiting an hour before driving will eliminate one drink. Be safe out there!