involuntary manslaughter

January 25, 2023

Will Alec Baldwin Be Convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter Charges?

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

The defense is characterizing the charges as baseless and without merit after New Mexico prosecutors charged Baldwin with manslaughter. Baldwin was the one who fired the loaded gun, but there is no one who believes he intentionally wanted to harm Halyna Hutchins. The question is one of negligence.

Under the law, simple negligence is not a crime. However, culpable negligence is a crime. As an example of a crime of culpable negligence, think reckless driving or DUI. In these cases, you may not be trying to hurt anyone, but you are placing others in a position where they can be hurt or even killed. In cases of DUI involving a death, you have culpable negligence that gives rise to homicide. So, did Baldwin contribute a DUI-like amount of culpable negligence to trigger a manslaughter investigation?

The Prosecution’s Argument

December 25, 2019

Chicago Police Officer Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Cook County judge, William Gamboney, found former Chicago police officer, Lowell Houser guilty of second-degree murder recently. Houser requested a bench trial as some police officers are wont to do when facing serious charges.

The trial stemmed from a 2017 off-duty shooting of Jose Nieves. Houser has been under house arrest since being charged with first-degree murder.

The judge ruled that Nieves may have been aggressive toward Houser, but the man was unarmed at the time of the shooting. He therefore decided that Houser’s actions were unreasonable and that the shooting was unjustified.

November 2, 2018

Possible Defenses to Involuntary Manslaughter Charges

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Involuntary manslaughter is a common charge in the Chicago area. It is typically levied against an individual who was involved in an incident in which someone died because of his or her actions. Involuntary manslaughter is not murder. It is also different from voluntary manslaughter. It typically means that the defendant did not mean or wish to cause the death of the victim, but that their actions, which were negligent, led to the victim’s death. Let us take a look at the possible defenses to involuntary manslaughter charges in today’s post.

The Incident Was an Accident

One of the most commonly used defenses to involuntary manslaughter charges is that the incident was an accident. Accidents can still happen when there is no recklessness or negligence present. To argue that the incident was an accident and involved no negligence or recklessness, the criminal defense attorney will need to show that the defendant was acting appropriately at the time of the incident and that he or she did not know the actions taken were dangerous.