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Georgia Supreme Court Reverses First Degree Vehicular Homicide
The Georgia Supreme Court in Klaub v. Battle, Warden (S09A0925), affirmed that under Georgia law one cannot be convicted of “first degree vehicular homicide based on the failure to stop and render assistance when the State fails to prove that the defendant caused the victim’s death through his failure to stop and render assistance.”The Court reaffirmed the holding in Henry in regards to Georgia vehicular homicide that “a conviction for first degree vehicular homicide predicated on a hit-and-run requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt of all the elements of felony hit-and-run plus the additional element” that the defendant’s failure to stop at the scene and render aid was a “contributing cause of the victim’s death.”
The Georgia Supreme Court found that the evidence at trial was clear that the victim would have died regardless of whether the defendant would have stopped and remained at the scene or not. As a result of the State not proving that the victim’s death was caused by the defendant’s failure to stop and render aid, the conviction was reversed.
About the author: John Breakfield is a lawyer with Breakfield & Dean, LLC law office in Gainesville, Georgia (GA). Attorney Breakfield regularly handles criminal defense matters including DUI, marijuana possession, drug possession, theft, tickets, commital hearings, arraignments, and many other criminal defense matters. Our attorneys can assist our clients through out Georgia including: Hall County (Gainesville, Oakwood, Flowery Branch), Gwinnett County (Buford, Sugar Hill, Lawrenceville), Dawson County (Dawsonville), White County (Cleveland), Lumpkin County (Dahlonega), Habersham County (Demorest, Cornelia), and all of North Georgia.
This article should not be considered nor relied upon as legal advice since it is only intended for general overview and informational purposes. Please consult with an attorney on your specific situation in order to determine an appropriate legal course of action.
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