As has been detailed elsewhere, the a freak incident can mean the difference between assault and manslaughter. The same applies to DUI and traffic cases. Although most DUI cases just involve something like the Colorado summer crackdown, where the police find the driver weaving around (or at least say they do), pull the driver over and charge him with a DUI. At this point, the Denver DUI lawyer who gets the case has to decide how to either show the jury that the charges are bogus, take a plea, or get some of the evidence thrown out. However, a whole class of DUIs and DUI related cases also involves aggravating circumstances.
The first level of consequences involves the amount of damage caused by the crash. Obviously for an incident with more minor consequences, it's fairly likely the officer will simply let you go. However, if the consequences are more severe, your Denver DUI lawyer could be facing a tough case. In certain circumstances, a crash caused by drinking and driving could even be grounds for a murder conviction. That's because the only real difference between murder and manslaughter is state of mind. The courts have ruled that driving while really, really, really, really drunk constitutes a state of mind so reckless, that there is no real difference between that much recklessness and killing somebody intentionally. That said, the guy in the most read case who was convicted for murder was driving the wrong way on a divided interstate highway.
That said, if you are even slightly impaired and somebody ends up dead, a conviction for manslaughter is fairly likely. That's because the standard for a conviction for manslaughter requires much less proof in terms of intent. It is much more like a showing of liability under civil law. So if you end up in a car crash after having a drink, you will badly need a Denver DUI lawyer on your side.
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