Show notes
In This Episode:
I pull back the curtain on the laws relating to the LAW OF MANSLAUGHTER.
There are 3 types of manslaughter: Voluntary, Involuntary and Vehicular. Within these categories we find issues of reckless disregard for human life and acts committed during misdemeanors and non-dangerous felonies. The main distinction between a charge of murder and a charge of manslaughter is the lack of the element of malice in the killing. The distinctions within the manslaughter laws themselves have to do with the intentionality of the killing itself.
Manu cases have been in the news in the past several years involving the charges of manslaughter. Some of the more famous include the case of Dr. Conrad Murray convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson, Josh Brent, the former Dallas Cowboy convicted of vehicular manslaughter in the death of his friend and teammate Jerry Brown and the case of George Zimmerman where some felt that if charges were going to be filed at all that murder was inappropriate and manslaughter was the appropriate charge.
The punishment for manslaughter is ofter drastically lower than the punishment for murder, especially involuntary manslaughter. The law recognizes that the circumstances surrounding the act of killing determine a person’s culpability. The role of the defense lawyer is to investigate those circumstances and present them to the trier of fact in such a way as to argue for the appropriate charge and punishment for the unlawful killing.
TRIAL LAWYER MENTOR Quick Tip:
Some ideas about making your presentation more relatable and thereby more persuasive. We talk about how you can incorporate “universal” examples, metaphors and analogies into your talk to hook the audience and get them to relate to your speech. Also, a brief tip on finding “universals” within small niches.
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