DUI Manslaughter Lawyer | Florida Defense

What is DUI manslaughter under Florida law?

DUI manslaughter is the charge Florida brings when the state alleges that a death resulted from driving under the influence. It is a second degree felony with a 4 year minimum mandatory prison sentence and a 15 year maximum, along with a fine of up to $10,000. If the driver failed to give information or render aid, it becomes a first degree felony, which carries up to 30 years.

The underlying DUI still has to be shown: impairment of normal faculties by alcohol or a chemical or controlled substance, or a breath or blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher. Because the 4 year minimum is mandatory, every element of the charge deserves close scrutiny.

Evidence in a fatal crash investigation

These cases are built from many sources at once: the crash scene, vehicle damage, road conditions, witness statements and testing of the driver. When a breath test is not possible, a blood test may be used instead, and its collection, handling and lab procedures can be reviewed.

A central question is usually what caused the crash. The other vehicle's movements, speed, road design, lighting, weather and mechanical problems can all be part of the picture. Independent review of the reconstruction and the physical evidence is a common part of the defense.

How a DUI manslaughter case moves through court

After arrest, booking and either bond or a first appearance before a judge usually happen within 24 hours. Discovery gives the defense the state's reports, test results and video, and Florida allows depositions of witnesses, including officers and the people who analyzed evidence. Motions to suppress can challenge evidence obtained unlawfully.

Felony sentencing uses the Criminal Punishment Code scoresheet, but the minimum mandatory sentence sets a floor beneath it. Courts cannot withhold adjudication on a DUI, a conviction cannot be sealed or expunged, and a separate administrative license track through DHSMV begins at the arrest.

A careful, methodical defense

These cases involve the loss of a life and grieving families, and they are handled with that in mind. The defense work is methodical: building the timeline, testing whether impairment can actually be shown, examining the blood evidence and studying what caused the crash.

DUI Lawyers Shield Firm is led by David Cannady, a former Florida prosecutor admitted to The Florida Bar in 2014, and offers a free case review for anyone facing this charge or under investigation after a fatal crash.

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General information only, not legal advice. Every case depends on its own facts, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Questions about DUI manslaughter

Florida law raises DUI manslaughter from a second degree felony to a first degree felony if the driver failed to give information or render aid after the crash. A first degree felony carries up to 30 years in prison. Because this changes the level of the charge, what happened in the moments after the crash, and what the evidence shows about it, receives close attention.

A conviction carries a 4 year minimum mandatory prison sentence, and the second degree felony carries a 15 year maximum. That is why the evidence about impairment, testing and the cause of the crash is examined so closely before any decision about a plea or trial. How the case ends depends on that evidence.

Yes. A DUI can be based on impairment of normal faculties by a chemical or controlled substance, not only alcohol. Blood tests may be used when drugs are suspected, and a DRE officer may have performed a 12 step evaluation. A valid prescription is not a defense if the driver's normal faculties were impaired, so the focus is on whether impairment can actually be shown.

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