An individual charged with vehicular homicide may very well be facing possible LIFE IN PRISON or a significant number of years behind bars, as well as other extremely serious consequences. It is crucial to obtain competent and knowledgeable legal counsel to help avoid potential pitfalls and prepare the best defense possible.

Costs involved in defending a vehicular homicide case

Legal costs. The defense of a vehicular homicide case is significantly more demanding than many other types of criminal cases. The attorney must spend a great deal of time investigating and preparing the case, obtaining and coordinating the appropriate expert witnesses, and orchestrating the many complexities in this area of law.

Non-legal costs. To properly prepare the defense of a vehicular homicide case, numerous experts are needed to thoroughly assess the incident including: 1) An Accident Investigation Expert, 2) A Toxicologist, 3) An Accident Reconstruction Expert, 4) A Highway Design Expert, 5) A "Human Factors" Expert (would testify to things such as perception), 6) An Expert qualified to testify on airbag inflation and interference (especially with breath test in cases of DUI ), 7) An "Ombudsman" (someone qualified to keep things calm and oversee the emotional aspects of case preparation), 8) Sentencing Consultant. Proven and reliable expert testimony is essential to defense preparation.

Investigation of a vehicular homicide case

Review all police reports. These give at least an overview of what happened to the defense lawyer and enable the lawyer and client to have a solid starting point for case preparation.

Review all accident reports. These are almost always a separate documentation which may or may not be completed by the arresting officer. Within these reports should be all of the information detailing the dynamics of the accident, and diagrams which are essential to establishing the point of impact, point of arrest, and other important information for the accident reconstructionist.

Scene inspection. Should take place immediately because skid marks, road gauges, and other immediate forms of evidence will disappear within days or weeks. Weather conditions at the time of the accident should be carefully considered, and the attorney should attempt to recreate (to the best of his or her ability) the aesthetics of the actual accident environment. The attorney should literally get out and walk the street or location of the accident in order to properly assess the scene.

The defense attorney should have fundamental working knowledge of the various components of an accident. For example, skid marks can demonstrate the driver's perception of and reaction to danger. Absence of skid marks may point to the fact that the person operating the car never perceived the danger until it was too late to do so. Also important to consider are the terrain, highway construction, highway topography, and weather conditions.

All vehicles involved in the collision should be thoroughly examined. The attorney should be accompanied by the investigator/accident reconstructionist expert at this point. Photographs should be taken of the vehicle and all factors observed by counsel during the initial inspection. Important considerations at this point include: 1) Were there any relevant design defects or recalls? 2) Did any of the vehicles involved malfunction?

Certain vehicles may present special problems in vehicular homicide cases. Motorcycles, for example, may react differently to water or oil spots on the road, causing steering problems which may not occur in a four-wheeled vehicle. Vans and light trucks may have a greater interplay with wind conditions at the time of the accident than would another vehicle. Also, if one of the vehicles is a rental vehicle, such as a rental truck, you may want to explore the likelihood of lack of timely repairs or a mechanical malfunction. The mileage on the van or truck should be checked carefully against the date the truck was serviced and the nature of the service which was actually received.

Heavy trucks such as tractor trailers bring more complication to the investigation. If the truck was loaded with cargo, then the cargo load must be analyzed. Cargo shifts can cause steering or breaking problems and in many instances cargo carried by a heavy truck will significantly outweight the unloaded truck itself. In any vehicular homicide case involving a heavy truck, the attorney should always obtain a complete record of how the truck was loaded, a complete description of the cargo in the truck, and a detailed analysis of how the cargo was positioned after the accident and all weigh bills and tonnage records from the point of departure through the weigh stations along the particular route prior to the accident. The general tonnage carried by the truck should be closely examined. Maintenace work and inspection of the frame or axles and buckles should be checked carefully.

These are just a few components of preliminary concerns in vehicular homicide cases. These cases are extremely complicated and carry the potential for serious consequences, so it is very important that an individual charged with vehicular homicide contact competent and knowledgeable legal counsel as soon as possible.

These materials were derived, in part, from a lecture by James F. Campbell of San Francisco, CA at Mr. Head's Mastering Scientific Evidence Seminar held in Atlanta in April, 2002.