DUI and Child Endangerment

June 15, 2011

Beverly Hills DUI? How About the Opposite – DUI in Middle of Yellowstone National Park!

Let’s face it: There are a lot more stories about celebrities driving under the influence in Beverly Hills and similar places (e.g. Burbank DUI, Pasadena DUI, Glendale DUI, Los Angeles DUI) than there are newsworthy events about people driving under the influence in national parks. And for good reason. The Southland is replete with millions of drivers, all of them competing to survive countless SIG alerts, smog, and each other. Out in the wide open, there are simply fewer cars and fewer chances for collisions or other problems.

All that said, occasionally, wild stories do come literally out of the middle of nowhere. To wit, consider the case of two bus drivers accused of driving DUI in the middle of Yellowstone National Park while transporting middle school students. Park rangers arrested the two drivers from Karst Stage (names have not yet been released) near the north entrance. KBZK TV reported that the drivers were transporting nearly 100 7th graders from a local Montana elementary school. The owner of Karst Stage, Jerry Perkins, said the company complies with DOT policies and requires third-party drug testing for its employees. In a written statement, Perkins said: “We are reviewing our safety practices to determine what improvements may be made and are very thankful that every one arrived home safely from the field trip.”

The Yellowstone DUI story barely merited a half page report from the Associated Press. But imagine if the details have been slightly different. Imagine, if instead of Yellowstone, the bus drivers drove DUI in the middle of Beverly Hills. And imagine if there had been an injury collision, and students had been hurt or killed. You’d likely see major front page stories and lots of public handwringing about “how to prevent something like this.”

The fact is: DUI is a DUI, on some level. The difference between these scenarios is far smaller than you might realize. It’s easy for friends, colleagues, and the media to villainize convicted DUI drivers. But this cartoonish characterization is incorrect and possibly even dangerous.

The moral of the story is: If you or someone you care about has been pulled over for Glendale DUI, a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can help you strategize. Attorney Michael Kraut (of Beverly Hills’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers, 9107 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 450, Beverly Hills, California 90210 Phone: (310) 550-6935) spent 14-plus years as a Los Angeles Senior Deputy District Attorney, during which time he accrued tremendous amount of knowledge. Attorney Kraut can leverage his unique experience and relationships to help you get results.

May 25, 2011

Glendale DUI Doozy – DUI Cabbie Drives Wrong Way on Freeway; Fortunately, He Didn’t Kill Anybody

by Michael Kraut

The crime of driving under the influence in Glendale (or anywhere else, for that matter) is serious enough. But when DUI drivers compound their problems by doing things like driving the wrong way on the freeway, accidents can happen far more easily – and these accidents have a far greater likelihood of leading to fatalities.

Not all the scary California DUI news has to do with Burbank DUI, Glendale DUI, Pasadena DUI, and Los Angeles DUI events – stuff that this blog normally tries to cover. Sometimes, our neighbors in the northern CA also get into trouble. Case in point, Mercury News is reporting on a terrifying story about a 57-year-old taxi driver, Steve Sharek, who drove his cab up an off-ramp onto Highway 1 – a misadventure that ended in a significant accident (although, fortunately, not a fatal one).

Here’s the story, per mercurynews.com: “About 1:50 P.M Monday, Sharek drove a taxi up an off-ramp at State Park Drive in Aptos to southbound Highway 1 in the wrong direction, the CHP said. The driver apparently realized his error and made a U-turn…by that time, a 57-year-old Aptos woman in a white, 1994 Toyota Avalon slammed on her breaks (and slammed into a 2001 Chevrolet Suburban).”

Fortunately, both the Aptos woman and the driver of the Suburban escaped without significant injuries, at least according to news reports. After his U-turn, Sharek attracted the attention of CHP officers, who pulled him over and arrested him under suspicion of DUI.

Most defendants understand that charges of injury DUI in Glendale may be more significant than simple Glendale DUI charges. But how different, exactly, are these crimes?

If you look at the California Vehicle Code sections that describe these crimes, you might not see much of a difference… at first.

A typical misdemeanor DUI, for instance, might be charged pursuant to CVC 23152 (a) or 23152 (b); whereas a typical injury DUI would be charged under CVC 23153 (a) and 23153 (b).

If you glance at these CVC codes quickly, they look basically identical!

But there is an enormous, profound difference. A 23152 charge is generally a misdemeanor – a serious crime, to be sure. But a 23153 charge, on the other hand, is a felony charge. Convicted felons can wind up with extensive prison sentences. So even if the person you hurt in your DUI accident wasn’t “that hurt,” you could still find yourself a felon if the prosecution manages to convict you under 23153 CVC.

A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney (for example, Mr. Michael Kraut of Glendale’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers, located at: 121 W Lexington Dr, Glendale, CA 91203 Phone: (818) 507-9123) can provide timely, effective, and strategically sound help. Attorney Kraut is not only a well-recognized former prosecutor of Los Angeles DUI crimes, but he is also regularly sought out by trusted media organizations like KTLA News, The New York Times, and Fox News, to discuss important breaking news in the Los Angeles DUI arena.

March 11, 2011

Long Beach DUI Sports Update: Coco Crisp Popped for DUI at Spring Training

by Michael Kraut

Last Wednesday, Oakland A’s outfielder (and former Red Sox icon) Coco Crisp got pulled over in Scottsdale, Arizona on suspicion of DUI – blogs that follow sports and Long Beach DUI news jumped on the story, possibly because the outspoken outfielder had been driving a 2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom (valued at $400,000+) when he got pulled over.

Most arrests for DUI in Burbank, DUI in Glendale, Los Angeles DUI, and Pasadena DUI, involve vehicles worth well less than $400,000. They also usually involve non-celebrities. So let’s get the full story behind Coco Crisp’s “beyond the run of the mill” DUI bust.

According to a report from TMZ.com, the police officer who pulled over Coco “observed signs of intoxication… after Mr. Crisp agreed to and performed field sobriety tests, he was arrested without further incident.” The AP report states that Crisp made his bail and actually made it to Phoenix Municipal State Event in time to play an exhibition game against the Indians. The Oakland A’s released a statement saying that the team was “taking Crisp’s situation seriously,” but team officials withheld additional comments “until further details are available.”

According to the AP, Crisp was the third major leaguer to be nabbed for DUI during this year’s spring training season – other arrests include Miguel Cabrera (Detroit Tigers), who got nabbed for Florida DUI in February, and Austin Kearns (Cleveland Indians), who got nabbed for DUI in Kentucky on February 12th.

Mr. Crisp allegedly failed his field sobriety tests (FSTs), but what exactly constitute Long Beach DUI field sobriety tests?

Here is a quick primer (or reminder, if you’re a regular reader of this blog) of standard Southern California DUI FSTs:

• Horizontal gaze tests – An officer checks the reaction time of your pupils for an indication of a delay, which might indicate DUI.
• Finger to nose test – Suspect is asked to close his (or her) eyes and to try to touch his (or her) nose.
• Other balancing tests, such as the “stand on one leg” test, Rhomberg test (tilt the head backwards and count to 30), and walk the line test (walk several paces back and forth along a line, such as the white line on the side of the road).
• Mental coordination tests – (e.g. counting the alphabet backwards or counting numbers backwards by threes).

If you or someone close to you has been arrested for the crime of driving under the influence in Long Beach, a reputable Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, such as the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers’ Michael Kraut, can give you much needed guidance and strategic assistance.

Mr. Kraut’s Long Beach offices are located at 444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454. In addition to having served for 14+ years as a city prosecutor and having attended Harvard Law School, Mr. Kraut has a 99% success rate at jury trials and an excellent reputation in his industry. Prosecutors and judges respect him, and major media outlets, such as the New York Times, LA Times, BBC, and KTLA News, have had Mr. Kraut on as a guest commentator to discuss Los Angeles DUI news.

January 3, 2011

Beverly Hills DUI Breaking News: Nicole Richie’s Probation Cut Short by a Month

by Michael Kraut

Many stories involving Beverly Hills DUI deal with tragedy and heavy circumstances. But a recent tabloidesque story out of The Hills has riveted the nation’s attention for its sheer frivolity. Reality TV star Nicole Richie has received a reprieve: her probation for 2006 arrest has been cut short by a month, after her attorney demonstrated that she had attended her alcohol ed classes and met all the conditions of her sentence.

If, like Ms. Richie, you’ve recently been tagged with a charge of Glendale DUI, DUI in Pasadena, DUI in Burbank or DUI in Los Angeles, you may find it interesting that 29-year-old managed to speed up her sentence, even though she got in trouble in June 2010 for missing her court ordered classes. Like her fellow trouble-making celebutantes, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, Richie garnered much public opprobrium for her misbehavior. Her 2006 DUI arrest was particularly scary. She drove the wrong way down a freeway in LA while under the influence – a terrifically dangerous act that easily could have killed someone. Now that she has two kids, Richie appears to be deeply contrite about her past actions. She said: “there is absolutely no way I will do anything like that again… I am in a completely different place now I have… I have to really be someone I want my child to look up to.”

So what are some typical penalties for Beverly Hills DUI?

It’s hard to say specifically what prosecutors will throw at you unless more details are known.

• If you are a multiple offender – that is, if you get convicted for DUI more than once within 10 years, your penalties will go up quite significantly.
• If you hurt someone while DUI in Beverly Hills, what ordinarily might be a simple misdemeanor offense will be charged as a felony.
• The court will look at things like the severity of your DUI, whether you cooperated with police or not, whether you demonstrate contrition or not, and whether extenuating circumstances existed.
• Even for a first time DUI misdemeanor, you can get a minimum of 48 hours in jail, a one-year license suspension, a mandatory installation of an IID device in your vehicle and other punishments.
• At the more elevated end of the punishment spectrum, if you get convicted of DUI murder in Southern California, you could face 15 years to life behind bars.

To navigate your defense, turn to an expert and experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. Local Beverly Hills lawyer Michael Kraut (9107 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 450, Beverly Hills, California 90210. Phone: 310-550-6935) can provide timely, superior service. As a former Deputy DA for the City of Los Angeles, Mr. Kraut understands Southern California DUI law from both a theoretical and experiential point of view. He has demonstrated tremendous success at trial and uses his many key relationships to deliver best result for his clients.

November 8, 2010

Breaking Southern California DUI News: Former Miss America Host Gary Collins Arrested for Hit and Run DUI in Mississippi

by Michael Kraut

Gary Collins, the ex-host of “Hour Magazine” and the Miss America Pageant (1980 to 1988) may soon be arrested for a hit and run DUI in Mississippi, according to celebrity Los Angeles DUI blogs.

Although the 72-year old has not yet been arrested for DUI in Los Angeles, DUI in Burbank, DUI in Glendale, or DUI in Pasadena; he does have multiple DUI arrests on his record. In fact, in 2007, Collins got involved in a fatal accident while driving under the influence of alcohol. The police later determined that he did not cause the accident. Thus, he only faced a punishment of 4 days in prison and 4 years probation, after he pled no contest to charges against him. However, over the past 10 years, he has been arrested 3 times for DUI. During one incident, Collins allegedly had been driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.29% — more than 3 times the legal limit for Southern California DUI of 0.08%.

In this latest incident, Collins allegedly slammed his white jeep into the back of a car driven by a local woman named Cheryl Hales. After initially exchanging words with Hales and her husband, he fled the scene. According to reports, the former Miss America host “wasn’t concerned for my wife’s wellbeing… he wasn’t concerned for my child’s wellbeing. He simply walked over, got in his vehicle, and left.”

The latest news reports suggest that the Mississippi police are preparing an arrest warrant for the celebrity, who once appeared on shows like Charlie’s Angels and The Love Boat. Collins is married to Mary Ann Mobley, who once won the Miss America crown.

What lessons can we extract from this story?

One important point is that California law seeks to punish recidivist (repeat) DUI drivers by ratcheting up penalties for multiple offenses. For instance, a first misdemeanor DUI offender may be hit with serious penalties – such as 48 hours in jail, fines of $1000 on top of court costs, a full year of CA driver’s license suspension, mandatory alcohol school, serious probation, and mandatory interlock ignition device installation. But these admittedly strict penalties can really only constitute the beginning of what the court can throw at you.

If you are convicted a second time for Los Angeles DUI within a 10 year period, you face more jail time, more alcohol school, a license suspension that’s twice as long, bumps in your court costs and fines, and more.

If you get convicted three times within 10 years, your jail time leaps up to 120 days minimum… with a maximum of a full year behind bars. Your alcohol school time goes up, as does your license suspension, fines, and other penalties.

If you get convicted four times or more within 10 years, a standard misdemeanor might be bumped up to a felony. A felony is a much more serious charge than a misdemeanor. If you are convicted of a felony, you can permanently lose many rights you now have as a citizen.

In the case of Collins, the fact that he fled the scene of the accident (allegedly) might elevate his charge from a misdemeanor to a felony, even if it were his first offense.

Whether you face a simple charge of non-injury DUI in Los Angeles; or you face a much more complicated and multi-layered charge of hit and run injury DUI in Pasadena, you could benefit significantly from consulting with a reputable and credentialed attorney.

November 1, 2010

Los Angeles DUI Fatality – Pedestrian Killed in a Gruesome School Bus Crash

by Michael Kraut

Last Monday, a fatal Los Angeles DUI incident shocked and outraged the community. A black BMW swerved out of control into a pedestrian, killing him, and then crashed into a school bus, injuring dozens of kids. If you have been recently arrested for a non-injury DUI in Burbank, DUI in Glendale, DUI in Pasadena, or DUI in Los Angeles; this horrific story can serve as a crucial cautionary tale.

According to UPI reports, several witnesses saw a BMW fly through a red light, slam into a pedestrian, and then crash into a bus carrying students from Los Angeles’s Roosevelt High School, flipping it over onto a Metro Link platform. After the crash, the BMW’s driver and a passenger got out of the vehicle and tried to escape on foot. But a pair of construction workers saw them, ran after them, and detained them until police showed up and took them into custody. Of the 54 students on the bus, 16 got treated for non-critical injuries.

If the allegations turn out to be correct – that the BMW’s driver did hit and kill someone while DUI and then fled the scene of the crime – then the driver could get into profound amounts of trouble. The state takes the crime of driving under the influence extremely seriously. Even if you don’t hurt anyone or cause any property damage, if you get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher, or if you otherwise drive under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or even prescription medications, you can be arrested and charged pursuant to California Vehicle Code Sections 23152 (a) and/or 23152 (b). Your punishments can range widely and can include jail time, license suspension, extremely strict probation terms, steep fines and court costs, and mandatory interlock ignition device installation.

If you hurt someone while driving under the influence in Pasadena or elsewhere in the Southland, your charges can be ratcheted up significantly. Then you might be subject to California Vehicle Code Sections 23153 (a) or 23153 (b), which elevate what might be a misdemeanor charge to a felony — a significantly more substantial charge.

And if you drive while DUI and cause someone’s death, you can be hit with a variety of charges, depending on the circumstances of your accident, including:

• Vehicular homicide
• Vehicular homicide with gross negligence
• DUI murder (aka “Watson murder”)

If you face any DUI count, a conviction can impact your financial future and even your freedom. To protect yourself, consider retaining an experienced Southern California DUI attorney.

August 16, 2010

Southern California DUI Experts React to Guilty Plea in Prominent New York DWI Death Case

by Michael Kraut

Experts in Southern California DUI law try to pay attention to events that occur on the national radar as well as to local Southland news items. And a recent development in a heartbreaking case out of New York City has once again stoked debate and discussion among the community.

Below is the scoop.

Carmen Huertas was partying last October in Chelsea when she decided to load up her van with seven young girls and take them to the Bronx for a slumber party at her house. Unfortunately, Huertas had been drinking. Allegedly, she knew it too. According to testimony, she told her passengers “if you think I am going to crash, raise your hand!” Anyway, Huertas got onto the Henry Hudson Parkway and lost of her car control around West 96 Street. In the terrible crash that ensued, 11-year-old Leandra Rosado died.

Now, Huertas is prepared to enter a plea of guilty to the manslaughter charge against her in hopes that Justice Charles Solomon will be lenient. Justice Solomon has said in the past that he would give her something in between the maximum possible sentence of 15 years and minimum possible sentence of 1 year.

What happens if someone commits vehicular manslaughter while DUI in Glendale (or elsewhere in the Los Angeles area)? There are actually laws on the books that specifically handle Los Angeles DUI vehicular manslaughter. This occurs when a motor vehicle driver violates traffic laws or is careless or negligent — and as a result of this carelessness or fault indirectly or directly causes the death of another human being.

There are degrees of vehicular manslaughter. One of the strongest charges is “gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.” To prove this, the prosecutor must show that the defendant was more than just normally “negligent” – he or she had to have been “grossly negligent.” If you are convicted of this more serious charge, you can face 10 plus years in jail or longer for every person who died in the accident. Gross negligence is defined as recklessness that creates serious bodily injury and/or death. And a reasonable person would know that the behavior would create this kind of extreme risk.

Whether you have been charged with a very serious crime, such as gross vehicular manslaughter while DUI in Pasadena, or you have been pulled over for a more “run of the mill” (but obviously very sobering and scary) charge of driving under the influence in Beverly Hills with a BAC of 0.14%, you likely need comprehensive and strategic guidance with your legal defense.

When defendants research Los Angeles DUI attorneys, they typically feel significant pressure to make a choice quickly. But it’s important to find an attorney who has the experience, track record and capacity to deliver a superior defense for you.

August 4, 2010

A Lesson for All Would-Be Southern California DUI Drivers: From a 13-Year-Old Girl

by Michael Kraut

No one disputes that driving DUI in Los Angeles is dangerous – and that conscientious people should do everything in their power to prevent friends and relatives under the influence from getting behind the wheel. But a rare story out of Islip, New York drives home this point in emotionally compelling fashion. The story involves a 13-year-old girl who called 911 after her mom insisted on driving DUI in spite of having her and her 10-year-old brother as passengers.

CNN reported that the 13-year-old daughter of Jamie Hicks called 911 last Sunday, while her mom was weaving on I-84 near Connecticut. The New York State Police pulled Ms. Hicks over and arrested her after she failed a field sobriety test. Her BAC level tested at 0.18% – more than twice the legal limit for Southern California DUI. According to CNN, Ms. Hicks will appear in court on August 17th to face an array of charges, including charges of endangering minors.

It obviously took guts for the young woman to call the police — she clearly did not want to see her mother put behind bars — but perhaps her act averted disaster.

Moving to another important general lesson, let’s talk again about Southern California Field Sobriety Tests (FSTs) – what they are, how they have bearing (or not) on cases, and what you should do if you’ve been arrested for driving under the influence in Pasadena — hopefully not with young children in your car.

Field Sobriety Tests are mental and physical exams given by police officers. A common mental test involves saying the alphabet backwards. Physical exams include the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, which is essentially a pupil reaction time test. DUI individuals tend to have slower reaction times. Balancing tests include: walk the line, one leg stand, finger to the nose and rhomberg (where you tilt your head backwards and count from 1 to 30).

In theory, Field Sobriety Tests (FSTs) should do a pretty good job determining who is DUI in Pasadena and who is not. But in practice, the tests can be extremely problematic. First of all, drivers pulled over under suspicion of DUI tend to be nervous, jittery, uncomfortable, nauseous, and otherwise out of sorts. Their behavior (e.g. stumbling and fumbling) may have nothing to do with whether or not they are under the influence and everything to do with their natural disposition or their feelings of fear. Also, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has suggested that all but three of the FSTs that police officers typically use – the horizontal gaze nystagmus, one leg stand, and walk and turn tests – really don’t show a correlation between impairment due to alcohol and performance.

For example, someone who is DUI may have a fantastic memory and may be able recite the alphabet backwards by rote even with a BAC of 0.20.

If you have been pulled over for Southern California DUI, you likely need a smart and experienced attorney in your corner to investigate the arrest and help you come up with a strategy to deal with the charges. Sometimes that strategy may involve trying to get the charges excused completely. Other times, it might involve trying to plea bargain down the charges so you will face a lesser offense and reduced punishment.

May 24, 2010

Los Angeles DUI Experts Riveted by Tragic Case of Man Nabbed for Eighth DUI – after Just Getting Out of Jail for Killing Someone While DUI

by Michael Kraut

Bloggers who follow stories about driving under the influence in Southern California were glued to their computers last Monday afternoon following a case out of Franklin County, Vermont involving a man arrested for his eighth lifetime DUI.

The defendant, Douglas Gardner, was last arrested for driving under the influence in 1989, when he crashed head-on into a car and killed 20-year Billy Labier-Boucher. Gardener served a 20-year prison sentence. After securing release last month, Gardner almost immediately got back into trouble. He allegedly stole a Pontiac Aztek, drank two beers and a vodka, and veered off Route 78 in Highgate into a bog. The Vermont troopers who found him tested his blood alcohol content at 0.156% – nearly twice the legal limit for Southern California DUI of 0.08%, as defined by California Vehicle Code Section 23152(b).

The state attorney asked for bail to be set at $100,000, but Judge Greg Rainville went one step further and ordered Gardener held without bail. The Judge remarked: “you are a threat to the safety of the public… if I can’t stop you from driving, I can’t allow you on the streets.” The Judge’s ruling elicited enthusiasm from Pat Labier-Boucher, the mother of the man that Gardner killed in 1989. Labier-Boucher said: “it was like 20 years ago… it’s like reliving the whole thing again… I hope he is behind bars forever.”

Obviously, similar cases of manslaughter DUI in Glendale and elsewhere are tragic for many reasons. But what does local law say about Los Angeles DUI manslaughter charges?

According to Penal Code Section 191.5(a), in very serious cases, a defendant can be charged with “gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.” Prosecutors don’t necessarily have to go for this charge. But to prove gross vehicular manslaughter, prosecutors must meet a very high burden. First, you must show that the defendant drove under the influence of drugs or alcohol with a BAC of 0.08% or more. Second, you must show that the defendant committed a driving infraction, misdemeanor, or other legal act that could lead to death of another person. Third, you must show that the person committed this act with gross negligence. And fourth, you must show that the grossly negligent act led to the actual death of someone.

February 22, 2010

Serial Traffic Offender Kills Girl in DUI Crash: Parallels Other Cases of Southern California DUI Homicide

by Michael Kraut

Driving under the influence in Long Beach (or anywhere else in Southern California) is a serious criminal act — one that can lead to horrific tragedies. Sadly, a 48-year-old man, Eddie Lumpkin, stands implicated in a recent and frighteningly brutal DUI homicide — this case out of Chicago.

On Tuesday, Lumpkin — who had been decorated with over three dozen traffic offenses over the past 20 years, according to the Chicago Sun-Times – plowed his van into six-year-old Jada Washington, killing her. Washington’s aunt, Tiuette Richardson, was severely hurt as well.

Despite all his traffic offenses (his latest occurred just weeks ago on January 31st, when he blew through a stop sign), amazingly, Lumpkin still had an Illinois drivers’ license. According to the Chicago Tribune, “The court records provide little information about why the tickets were dropped, but it could have been a lack of evidence, the failure of police officers to show up in court or any number of other things.”

Lumpkin has been charged with two counts of aggravated DUI as well as reckless homicide.

The laws concerning DUI murder in Southern California differ somewhat from the applicable Illinois laws. If Lumpkin had a hit and killed a six-year-old while driving under the influence in Long Beach, for instance, he could be charged with Gross Vehicular Manslaughter while Intoxicated (CA Penal Code Section 191.5(a)).

To win a case like this, prosecutors would have to show four things:

1. Lumpkin was under the influence of alcohol or drugs and drove with a BAC of 0.08% or higher.

2. While driving DUI in Long Beach (or anywhere else in Southern California), Lumpkin committed a misdemeanor, traffic offense or other act that could lead to death.

3. Lumpkin performed this misdemeanor, infraction or act with what’s known as “gross negligence” — a standard of carelessness that’s beyond ordinary inattention or bad judgment.

4. The gross negligence led to the death of the six-year-old girl.

Cases of Gross Vehicular Manslaughter while DUI in Southern California can become incredibly complicated and can stretch out over months, if not years.

The consequences of a less than exact defense could lead to extreme punishments. So, if you or a loved one stands accused of a DUI in Long Beach — whether you are contending with a simple misdemeanor or a complex charge like vehicular manslaughter — you likely need competent and experienced legal counsel.