Anne Bishop, P. O. Box 313, Gainesville, GA 30503 email@gainesvillegalawyer.com (770) 783-5296

A. Bishop Law, LLC

Georgia Supreme Court Reverses First Degree Vehicular Homicide: Georgia Attorney Discusses A Drivers Duty to Stop

Georgia Attorney Discusses A Drivers Duty to Stop

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 victimâ€'s death through his failure to stop and render assistance.”

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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.

In 2008, the decision in Henry was overturned.  Georgia Code § 40-6-270 now states that when a driver fails to stop and fulfill certain requirements in aid to the driver and is the proximate cause of death or serious injury he/she shall be guilty of a felony and face imprisonment up to 5 years.

Georgia Attorney Discusses A Drivers Duty to Stop

Criminal Defense Attorney discusses first degree vehicular homicide based on the failure to stop and render assistance.

At A. Bishop Law, our Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney welcomes questions on Criminal Defense laws, Traffic Laws and Georgia DUI laws. Please Call or Email us with any questions.

About the attorney:  Anne Bishop is a Georgia lawyer with A. Bishop Law in Gainesville, Georgia and handles various DUI / DWIMarijuana Arrests and other Georgia Criminal Defense matters.  The law office of A. Bishop Law can assist clients throughout Georgia including: Hall County (Gainesville, OakwoodFlowery Branch), Jackson County  (Jefferson, Braselton) White County (Helen, Cleveland), Lumpkin County (Dahlonega), Dawson County (Dawsonville), Habersham County (Demorest, Cornelia), and all of Northeast Georgia.

This article and/or video 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.

Anne Bishop
A. Bishop Law, LLC
Attorney at Law
539 Green Street NW
Gainesville,Georgia
30501
US
Phone: (770) 783-5296