Drunk driving is a severe offense, mainly when it results in a person’s death. Upon involvement in a fatal DWI, you risk facing severe felony charges, including murder for causing a wrongful death. Understanding the legal guidelines that attract murder charges for a deadly DWI is therefore essential, as you can prepare your defenses better. The murder charge for causing a DWI fatality varies depending on the case circumstances, so you need to assess your current case facts and criminal record.
As a first-time offender, you may be unsure of the legal procedures and inquiries to make before trial. Therefore, working with a DWI defense lawyer is highly advisable, as you will receive professional guidance. Choosing a DWI defense lawyer is also more advantageous because they specialize in the practice area. You can expect them to provide rich details and represent you in court accordingly.
What a Murder Charge for a Fatal DWI Entails
Driving while intoxicated (DWI) is unlawful in Texas, attracting criminal charges and penalties upon arrest as provided for in Section 49.04 of the Texas Penal Code. Typically, a DWI results in misdemeanor charges based on the circumstances and whether you are a first-time offender. However, repeat offenders risk facing felony charges upon committing two or more DWI offenses.
According to criminal procedure laws, the prosecutor can deviate from the usual criminal process that requires them to prove a suspect’s intention to murder in some cases. They do this if you face arrest for a felony offense that resulted in a victim’s death, as the nature of the crime is serious.
Although the prosecutor does not need to establish your intention to kill when charging you with DWI murder, they must still show that you committed or attempted to commit a felony that caused a fatality.
Applying these technicalities to a DWI case, you are only eligible to face a murder charge for a fatal DWI if you have a criminal record that would attract felony DWI charges. Killing someone is an additional element for the prosecutor to prove after establishing that your current DWI offense is a felony. Based on this, you should engage your DWI defense attorney to assess the facts of the case and verify your eligibility for the charge.
The following are DWI offenses that attract a felony charge:
-
You Have Previously Committed Three or More DWI Offenses
One of the criteria is that you must have previously committed three or more DWI violations. Being a repeat offender with three or more convictions translates into a felony charge for subsequent DWI cases because it demonstrates your inability to reform. The justice system is, therefore, insistent on enforcing your charges as a deterrent to future behavior.
-
You Committed a DWI Offense With a Minor in the Vehicle
Minors are vulnerable, so the law extends firm laws and restrictions to promote their protection. Driving while intoxicated with a minor in the vehicle is a felony offense because it amounts to child endangerment. One charge is enough to attract future sentence enhancements, as you will have already received a felony DWI record upon arrest and conviction.
-
You Have a DWI Conviction Record for Committing Manslaughter When Intoxicated
Having a DWI record for intoxication manslaughter is grounds for facing a murder charge, as the offense is a serious felony. Your record will now show fatalities caused by drunk driving, making it essential for the prosecutor to file the harshest charge against you.
Elements the Prosecutor Must Prove in a DWI Murder Charge
If the court finds the murder charge acceptable, they will authorize the trial to begin. The prosecutor takes over as the primary representative of the state and aggrieved parties, so they bear the burden of proof. Additionally, they must ensure that their standard of evidence meets the criminal law criteria and demonstrates their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Since the prosecutor aims to persuade the court of your guilt, they must provide convincing evidence for all elements of the crime. Their case breakdown requires them to support their arguments for each case element, and you can expect them to focus on the following aspects of crime:
You Operated a Motor Vehicle
Operating a motor vehicle is also essential to proving a DWI murder charge, as it links you to your subsequent actions. The prosecutor’s argument should show that you were behind the wheel, making you the primary party responsible for the victim’s death.
Establishing that you operated a motor vehicle requires the prosecution team to source evidence from surveillance footage. They can retrieve the footage from street or dashboard cameras on nearby vehicles and your car.
Witness testimonies and statements are also relevant as evidence, especially if you had someone else in the car when driving. The prosecutor may convince them to provide testimony against you, so you need to be ready with a counterargument during the defense hearing.
Your Blood Alcohol Concentration Was Beyond the Legal Limit
Drinking before driving is generally impermissible, but you may have a reasonable amount of alcohol in your system, provided it falls below the legal limit. Under Section 49.04 of the Texas Penal Code, motorists should not exceed a BAC of 0.08% when driving, as this is the legal limit acceptable for practical driving.
Additional restrictions apply to drivers under the age of 21 under the Texas Zero Tolerance Laws, making it illegal to drive with any alcohol content in the system. If you are within the 21-year age bracket with a BAC level exceeding 0.15%, you risk facing harsher penalties, especially as a repeat offender.
Upon stopping at a DWI checkpoint, the presiding traffic officer administers a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) test to determine whether you are within acceptable alcohol levels. The officers use a breathalyzer device that measures alcohol levels in your breath against the legal limit. You will blow into the machine and wait a few seconds before a digital calibrator displays the BAC readings.
Alternatively, the officers administering tests may suspect you of being under the influence of drugs, warranting them to issue a chemical test. You may thus have to produce a urine or blood test to determine your BAC levels, and the traffic officers can justify an arrest even with slight drug traces.
After undergoing BAC tests at the DWI checkpoint, the officers will forward your information to the prosecutor as evidence for your upcoming trial. You can, therefore, expect the prosecution team to present your BAC results in court as justification that you violated DWI laws.
If you resisted testing, the prosecutor will also share the details and provide evidence of your refusal through surveillance footage or police reports. Parties who oppose undergoing BAC tests risk facing sentence enhancements as their actions inhibit police officers and affiliated professionals like drug testers from performing their roles.
Your Actions Resulted in the Victim’s Death
The main element distinguishing your offense from a regular DWI charge is that you caused the victim’s death by driving drunk. Based on this, the prosecutor must provide sufficient proof to demonstrate the direct consequences of your actions that resulted in the fatality.
You can expect the prosecution team to retrieve footage that shows you driving recklessly to demonstrate your uncoordinated state of mind. The footage does not necessarily have to show you colliding with the victim, as long as the prosecutor can justify their position by stating that you were unfit to drive and, therefore, a safety hazard for other road users.
Witness testimonies are also helpful for the prosecutor’s case because the parties present can recap the events leading to the victim’s death. If more than one witness provides the same testimony, the evidence becomes more persuasive, and the jury will likely accept it.
The victim’s medical records are also essential to provide, specifically a post-mortem report and a death certificate. The post-mortem report provides details on the specific cause of death, which the prosecutor will link to the impact that the victim suffered as a result of your DWI. If a medical expert is available, the prosecutor may ask them to provide opinion evidence to elaborate on the findings made during the post-mortem procedure. They often expound on the nature of wounds to establish a car accident injury as the leading cause of death.
You Have a Felony DWI History
Since a murder charge for a fatal DWI involves a technical analysis of your criminal history, the prosecutor should provide documentary evidence. They aim to present trial proceeding records, judgments, and conviction documents that show your identity details.
During the discovery process (before trial), both parties must disclose all evidence they intend to rely on when practice begins. The prosecutor should, therefore, provide copies of your criminal records to help you verify whether they match your identity details.
By presenting records from the Department of Justice and previous court proceedings, the prosecutor can easily prove the element of crime. Consequently, they may persuade the court of your guilt unless you can show disparities in the DWI record documents.
Defenses Applicable in a Murder Charge for a Fatal DWI
The defense trial follows the prosecutor’s case presentation, allowing you to counter their accusations and present your arguments. Facing a murder charge in Texas attracts severe penalties, so you must work closely with your DWI attorney to prepare solid and persuasive defenses.
Soon after accepting your case, your lawyer should thoroughly research your facts and the prosecutor’s claims. They should also determine whether the prosecutor holds accurate records to ensure you counter their accusations accordingly. Some defenses to apply to fight a murder charge for a fatal DWI include:
You Did Not Cause the Victim's Death Directly
Killing a victim by driving while intoxicated involves causing a direct impact on them, causing severe injuries that result in the fatality. Based on this, the prosecutor’s argument must link your intoxicated driving to the victim’s death to avoid creating reasonable doubt.
You can raise a solid defense if you strongly believe that your drunken driving did not directly impact the victim’s death, provided you have supporting evidence. The argument is acceptable if you show that the victim escaped the accident scene while still alive and that additional factors may have ultimately caused their death.
For example, your vehicle may have approached the victim, causing them to move away from their designated path, where an oncoming car hit and killed them. Alternatively, the argument is applicable if the victim delayed seeking treatment, resulting in an infection that caused their death.
Your goal should demonstrate that additional factors interfered with the natural flow of events, shifting blame for the victim’s death. While the prosecutor may still argue that your DWI was the starting point for the victim’s subsequent death, your defense introduces reasonable doubt.
If your DWI attorney argues your position adequately and highlights all other possible causes of death, the judge and jury may have to reconsider accepting the prosecutor’s case. The defense may not completely absolve you of criminal liability, but it is pivotal in persuading a more lenient case outcome.
The DWI Records are Inaccurate
You may also be the victim of mistaken identity or poor investigation compilation, resulting in an unfair murder charge for a DWI fatality. The situation arises if the prosecutor relies on the wrong records to establish that you have three or more past DWI violations, an intoxication manslaughter conviction, or a DWI charge involving a minor.
Your main argument is that, despite having previous criminal conviction records, they do not fall within the DWI scope and are thus inapplicable in treating the present case as a felony. Your DWI attorney will retrieve the relevant details to support your case and request that the prosecutor inspect your records.
If the judge accepts your defense, they may order a fresh trial under a lower DWI charge category, like intoxication manslaughter. However, the outcome may involve incarceration and fine payments because the prosecutor can prove that you caused death by driving while intoxicated. Even so, the lower charge presents more lenient sentences than the murder charge for a fatal DWI.
You Were Not Driving Under the Influence
If you were not intoxicated when an accident occurred, you could raise a defense to justify your request to change the charge from murder to manslaughter. Your basis for the appeal is that you did not commit a felony under DWI regulations, so facing a DWI murder charge would be unfair.
You can challenge evidence showing that you were intoxicated if you believe the breathalyzer device was faulty or that your test samples were contaminated. When presenting the arguments, provide supporting evidence to improve your credibility, as the prosecutor and investigation officers will have already submitted their proof.
Working with a diligent DWI defense attorney gives you a better chance of raising a successful defense, as they can source information to support your defense from the traffic department.
You Face False Accusations
Alternatively, the prosecutor may have used completely incorrect information to justify the current charge, warranting your defense. You can present this argument if you have never faced a criminal charge or strongly believe that the prosecutor or investigation officer fabricated information.
The defense helps uncover corruption within the justice system and can lead to your acquittal. Nevertheless, your success is subject to a strict standard or proof showing how the state officers imposed false accusations against you.
Your DWI defense attorney should discuss your evidence before the defense hearing to give you a chance to provide additional input. For example, if you faced threats or coercion to confess to the charge, you should add the details for a more robust defense.
Penalties Applicable in a Murder Charge for a Fatal DWI
Causing a DWI fatality is a first-degree murder charge involving committing a felony. Based on this, you are subject to the Texas Penal Code's capital murder charge, among the most severe penalties applicable in murder cases nationwide. If found guilty, the judge may order the death penalty or life imprisonment without a parole option.
While the penalties are severe, you can present a mitigating statement to plead for leniency during sentencing. However, the mitigating statement is only beneficial in reducing your sentence from the death penalty to life imprisonment.
Find a DWI Defense Attorney Near Me
Facing a murder charge for a DWI fatality can be detrimental if the judge finds you guilty of the offense. The charge involves causing death while drunk driving, and the prosecutor files it against parties with a history of three or more DWI convictions. Upon facing a murder charge, you should act quickly to prepare a solid defense and anticipate the prosecutor’s arguments. You also need to work closely with an experienced DWI defense lawyer to help you gather evidence and prepare persuasive arguments against the prosecutor. With a trusted team, you have better chances of pleading your innocence or requesting a sentence reduction.
At Fort Worth DWI Defense Lawyer, we aim to provide excellent legal defense services to meet your case's needs. Our team comprises skilled attorneys with experience handling DWI cases, making us your trusted legal partner. We also understand the seriousness of a murder charge for a fatal DWI and conduct thorough research on your behalf to create a strong defense. If you or a loved one requires DWI defense services in Fort Worth, Texas, contact us at 817-470-2128.
