Driving Under The Influence And Death Of Passengers: What To Expect In Court With Your DUI Attorney's Help
There are numerous sad stories out there of people who chose to drink and drive. When it is discovered that the passengers in these cars were also too inebriated to drive but died in a crash anyway, it becomes a criminal offense for the driver, one which borders on homicide. If this sounds like your own case, it is very likely that you never meant to harm the people that were riding with you. With your DUI attorney's help, you may be able to persuade the courts to give you a lighter sentence. Here is what to expect in court with your lawyer's help.
Remorse Is the Key
Drunk drivers with repeat offenses and several injuries or fatalities of others typically have little remorse for their crimes. Given your first-time offense and loss of people close to you, real grief and real remorse are key to showing the judge that you have definitely learned your lesson. You are the cause of your own pain and suffering for a momentary lapse in judgement, and most judges know that you will live with that guilt the rest of your life. You may even suffer PTSD symptoms because of the accident, and your lawyer will attest to the court that that in itself is its own worst consequence. If your lawyer advises you to also write letters apologizing to all of the families of the people who died in the accident while you were driving, it may help to prove how truly remorseful you are for your actions.
First-Time Offense and Possible Sentences
The second factor that will help your case is having a previously clean driving record. When your first time offense of driving while intoxicated results in fatalities, the judge can look at your record and see that you do not have a repeating pattern that could put others in jeopardy in the future. As such, your lawyer can argue that you should get a lighter sentence. Unless the families of the deceased push to have you in prison for much longer, a judge may decide that your sentence should be house arrest and an ankle bracelet that monitors your whereabouts. Your sentence may include time in jail, rather than a maximum security prison for serious offenders. (If your lawyer can get you time in a minimum security prison or county jail, then you might be allowed out on Huber Law to go to a job and then return immediately after your shift, which might help repay any fines you might receive as part of your sentence.)
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