San Bernardino Murder Defense Attorneys

Defending Californians who have been charged with voluntary or involuntary manslaughter in San Bernardino.

Voluntary or involuntary manslaughter is different from murder, but it remains a serious crime with life-changing consequences. If you have been charged with manslaughter, either voluntary or involuntary, please contact our San Bernardino criminal defense lawyers right away. We have extensive experience working these types of cases, and we know how to successfully fight for our clients’ rights, often getting their charges reduced or dismissed.

Understanding Voluntary and Involuntary Manslaughter in San Bernardino

Penal Code 192(a) makes it a crime to kill someone during a sudden quarrel, in the heat of passion or based on an honest but unreasonable belief to defend themselves. This is a lesser charge than murder, but it still has serious penalties. This offense often comes up in murder cases, particularly those where the defendant has admitted to killing the victim but seeks to have the charges reduced from murder.

Involuntary manslaughter is covered under Penal Code 192(b) and occurs when one person kills another person unintentionally. For it to be involuntary, the crime must have been committed when the defendant was not committing a felony or any other unlawful acts. Both voluntary and involuntary manslaughter are felonies.

Penalties for Manslaughter in San Bernardino

If you are convicted of voluntary manslaughter in California, you could face three, six or eleven years in a California state prison. This is far less than what you could receive for committing murder, which is a minimum of 15 years to life in prison, often without the possibility for parole. This is why murder charges will sometimes be reduced to manslaughter.

Voluntary manslaughter convictions may also come with fines up to $10,000, the loss of the right to own a firearm, community service, counseling services and other conditions. It’s also important to note that voluntary manslaughter can be a “strike” on your record as part of California’s Three Strikes Law. This law gives higher punishments to those who have committed multiple felonies.

If you are convicted of involuntary manslaughter, you could receive two, three or four years in jail and a fine up to $10,000. Even though this sounds better than a voluntary manslaughter charge, involuntary manslaughter goes on your criminal record and will make it difficult to find jobs in the future. It’s important to fight these charges and protect your future.

Legal Defenses for Manslaughter

If you are being charged with voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, there are various legal defenses that our San Bernardino criminal defense lawyers can present on your behalf. When we meet with you for your consultation, we can determine what defense fits your case best. Here are some examples:

• Self-defense. If you were trying to protect yourself from being killed, raped, robbed or harmed in some way, you have the right to protect yourself. You can also act in the defense of others.

• Insanity. If you were insane at the time of the killing, you can use this as your defense. To be deemed insane, you must not have understood the nature of your crime and unable to distinguish between right and wrong at the time of the crime. The California insanity defense is governed by the M’Naghten test.

• Accident. If you accidentally kill someone, you are not guilty of manslaughter. To use this as your defense, you must not have been acting negligently or engaging in unlawful behavior at the time of the crime. Also, you must have lacked criminal intent.

Related Offenses to Manslaughter

When dealing with unlawful killings, there are many charges that surface aside from voluntary or involuntary manslaughter. How you will be charged depends on the circumstances of your case, your motives for murder and whether the killing was premeditated or not.

• Murder (PC 187). Murder and manslaughter are closely related because they involve an intent to kill. The difference is that murder requires malice aforethought, which means that there is a cruel disregard for human life. Murder is charged as first-degree murder, second-degree murder or capital murder. Penalties include a minimum of 15 years to life in prison, with or without the possibility of parole. Capital murder can result in the death penalty.

• Attempted murder (PC 187). You can be charged with attempted murder if you took a direct step towards killing someone but were not successful. Sometimes, attempted murder can be reduced to attempted manslaughter, especially if you wanted to kill someone but didn’t have the malice to do so.

Meet with Our Manslaughter Defense Attorneys Today

The Law Offices of David S. Chesley have many years of experience fighting voluntary and involuntary manslaughter cases. We have over 50 years of courtroom experience and aren’t afraid to take on complex cases that other criminal defense lawyers won’t touch. We are highly successful in getting charges reduced or dismissed by poking holes in the prosecution’s story and applying the proper legal defense. To schedule a consultation with our affordable criminal defense attorneys in San Bernardino, contact us today.