Involuntary manslaughter defined

Vegas Criminal Attorney Defines Involuntary Manslaughter

In Nevada, if you take the life of another person, you can be charged with a serious crime. In many cases, this is true even if you did not mean to cause the death of the victim. There are different types of homicide offenses with which you could be charged after you cause a death, and your conduct and motivations will determine which offense you will be prosecuted for committing.

One of the possible charges that you could face if you are responsible for causing an unlawful loss of life is a charge of involuntary manslaughter. While involuntary manslaughter is not as serious of a crime as voluntary manslaughter or murder, you could still be imprisoned, be left with a criminal record, and have your life derailed in important ways.

You need to make an informed choice about how to respond to involuntary manslaughter charges, so the best course of action is to contact a Nevada defense attorney as soon as you are under suspicion for involuntary manslaughter or as soon as you have been arrested and charged. LV Criminal Defense has represented many defendants accused of homicide offenses and we can put our strong legal skills in this complex area of law to work on helping fight for your future. Give us a call today to find out more.

Nevada Laws on Involuntary Manslaughter

In Nevada, involuntary manslaughter is defined in Nevada Revised Statute section 200.070. According to the relevant statute, you can be charged with involuntary manslaughter if you killed another human being but did not intend to cause death.

There are a few exceptions when an involuntary killing will lead to criminal charges under a different section of Nevada law. For example, if you unlawfully caused someone’s death while operating your vehicle, you would likely be charged with vehicular manslaughter under Nevada Revised Statute section 484B.657 instead of being charged with involuntary manslaughter under N.R.S. 200.070.

In most cases, however, involuntary manslaughter is the charges you will face for causing a death. N.R.S 200.070 is the statute that you will be charged under if you unintentionally kill someone while you are committing certain unlawful acts. N.R.S. 200.070 is also the statute you will be charged under if you unlawfully kill someone while you are doing a lawful act in a dangerous way This means that if you are doing something legal but you are doing it in a careless or irresponsible way that is likely to cause a loss of life, you can be charged with involuntary manslaughter.

However, if you are engaged in a lawful or unlawful act in such a way that the likely consequence of that act is to cause someone’s death, or if you have felonious intent when engaging in an unlawful act, then you could be charged not with involuntary manslaughter but with murder.