Criminally Negligent Homicide Lawyer In Orange, TX
Criminally negligent homicide is a state jail felony under Texas Penal Code § 19.05, charged when the state says someone should have seen a deadly risk and did not. This page covers what the state must prove, the penalty range, how the charge is defended and how the case moves through the county.
What Is Criminally Negligent Homicide In Texas?
Criminally negligent homicide under Texas Penal Code § 19.05 means causing the death of an individual through criminal negligence. The person did not perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that they should have perceived, and the failure was a gross deviation from ordinary care. It is a state jail felony, and the central issue is whether the conduct rose above an ordinary mistake.
Understanding Texas Law
How Does Texas Law Define Criminally Negligent Homicide?
Texas Penal Code § 19.05 makes it an offense to cause the death of an individual by criminal negligence. It is the only Texas homicide offense that does not require the person to have been aware of the risk they created.
Murder requires intent or knowledge. Manslaughter requires conscious disregard of a known risk. Criminally negligent homicide requires that the person failed to perceive a risk they should have perceived.
The charge appears in cases where no one intended harm: a fatal crash caused by inattention, a firearm assumed to be unloaded, a child left in a vehicle, or a hazard at a worksite or home.
Section 6.03 separates the two lower mental states.
- Reckless, § 6.03(c). The person was aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk and consciously disregarded it. That supports manslaughter.
- Criminally negligent, § 6.03(d). The person ought to have been aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk and failed to perceive it. That supports criminally negligent homicide.
What the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt:
- The person caused the death of an individual
- The person failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death could result
- The risk was of such a nature that failing to perceive it was a gross deviation from the care an ordinary person would use in the same circumstances
- The death would not have happened but for the person's conduct (causation under Penal Code § 6.04)
Civil negligence, the standard in a lawsuit for money, is not enough. The criminal law asks for a gross deviation, and that is a much higher bar than an ordinary lapse.
Penalties And Consequences
What Are The Penalties For Criminally Negligent Homicide In Texas?
A state jail felony is the lowest felony level in Texas, but a deadly weapon finding can move the range into the third degree. These are statutory limits, not predictions of what will happen in any one case.
Third degree punishment under § 12.35(c).
- Classification
- State jail felony under Penal Code § 19.05.
- Confinement
- 180 days to 2 years in a state jail facility.
- Fine
- Up to $10,000.
- With a deadly weapon
- Under Penal Code § 12.35(c), punished as a third degree felony, 2 to 10 years in prison, if a deadly weapon was used or exhibited. A vehicle can qualify.
- Misdemeanor punishment
- Penal Code § 12.44 allows Class A misdemeanor punishment for a state jail felony in some circumstances.
- Record
- A felony conviction is a permanent public record and can affect firearm rights, jobs and professional licenses.
A death also opens a civil door. A family can file a wrongful death lawsuit that runs on its own track, and the criminal case can affect it. That is one more reason to be careful with statements.
Real Questions
What Do People Ask About Criminally Negligent Homicide In Texas?
Is a fatal accident always a crime?
Can the charge change after an arrest?
What does a gross deviation look like in practice?
Does a deadly weapon finding apply to a vehicle?
Is there a time limit for filing the charge?
Possible Defenses
How Can Criminally Negligent Homicide Be Defended?
The facts of the death may not be disputed at all. The contested question is whether the failure to see the risk was a gross deviation from ordinary care or an ordinary lapse the criminal law does not reach.
An attorney reviews what the person could actually have perceived, what information was available, and what the state can prove. No result can be promised.
The evidence tells the story of what was knowable.
Crash data, scene photographs, 911 audio, medical records, phone records and witness statements all bear on what a reasonable person would have seen. Expert opinions on reconstruction, medicine or safety standards can support or weaken the state's account.
The Texas Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure also set rules for how statements and searches must be handled.
Was The Risk Perceivable?
What warnings, signs or information were available to the person at that moment?
Gross Deviation Or Lapse?
Does the conduct rise above ordinary carelessness, or is it the kind of mistake any person might make?
Causation
Did the person's conduct cause the death, or was another cause sufficient on its own under § 6.04?
Statements
Were any statements to officers voluntary, accurate and properly recorded?
Medical Cause Of Death
Does the autopsy and medical evidence support the cause the state alleges?
The Charge Level
Is a deadly weapon allegation supported by how the object was actually used?
Local Process
What Happens After A Negligent Homicide Arrest In Orange County?
Felony procedure follows Texas law across the state. Where the case is heard, who prosecutes it and where a person is held are specific to Orange County.
Investigation And Arrest
Some cases lead to arrest at the scene. Others are investigated for weeks, then presented to the grand jury directly, with a warrant or summons issued on the indictment.
Magistrate And Bond
After arrest, a magistrate explains the charge and the person's rights and sets bond.
Indictment
The grand jury decides whether probable cause supports the charge. It can also return an indictment for a different offense than the one in the arrest report.
District Court
The case proceeds through arraignment and discovery of the state's evidence under art. 39.14 to a dismissal, a plea, deferred adjudication where the law allows it, or trial.
- Grand jury
- The case is presented to a Orange County grand jury for indictment.
- Where it is heard
- One of the county's three district courts: 128th District Court, 163rd District Court, and 260th District Court.
- Who prosecutes
- The Orange County District and County Attorney's Office.
- Who makes the arrest
- Orange Police Department, Orange County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS Highway Patrol, Vidor Police Department, Bridge City Police Department, Pinehurst Police Department, or West Orange Police Department.
- Where you are booked
- The Orange County Correctional Facility at 205 S Border Street, run by the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
- If the case is appealed
- The Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont.
The charge can move up as well as down. See manslaughter for the reckless version, and vehicular manslaughter for how the state chooses among the statutes after a fatal crash. A deadly weapon finding carries consequences covered on the 3g offenses page.
Next Steps
What Should You Do After A Negligent Homicide Investigation Or Arrest?
These steps are general information, not advice for any one person. A death investigation can run for months before a charge is filed.
Do Not Give A Statement
Talk to a lawyer before any interview. Statements about what you noticed are the core of a negligence case.
Preserve Evidence
Keep your phone, vehicle, photos and messages as they are. Do not delete anything.
Write It Down
Record what you remember while it is fresh, and give it only to your attorney.
Keep Paperwork
Keep every summons, bond paper and court notice.
Stay Off Social Media
Do not post about the event or contact the family.
Notify Your Insurer Carefully
Ask your attorney before giving your insurer a detailed account.
Talk to a lawyer early. A conversation with Mitchell Law Firm about a death investigation in Orange County is confidential, and calling before charges are filed can keep the most options open.
Official Texas Sources
Read The Law Behind This Page
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 19: Murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 6: Culpable mental states and causation
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 12: Punishment, including state jail felonies and § 12.44
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 1: General definitions, including bodily injury
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 12: Limitation periods
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 39: Discovery of the state's evidence
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 42A: Community supervision
Who Handles Your Case
The Texas Lawyer Who Speaks Science
Attorney Brennon Mitchell isn't just a seasoned Orange trial lawyer. He's one of the few in Texas, and the entire country, to earn the prestigious title of an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist. That means he's gone beyond the courtroom and into the laboratory, receiving in-depth, hands-on training in forensic chromatography, the same kind of testing used by crime labs to try and convict Texans every day.
What does that mean for you?
It means when the state uses blood alcohol or drug testing to try to prove its case, Mr. Mitchell knows how to challenge it. He's trained to:
- Analyze lab results and spot faulty science
- Cross-examine forensic experts with precision
- Break down complex chemical evidence in plain language for juries
This is not the kind of background you find in most criminal defense attorneys, and it could make the difference between a conviction and a clean slate.
Brennon graduated from Texas A&M University School of Law and practices from offices in Orange and Conroe.
Client Reviews
What Clients Say About Brennon Mitchell
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and is decided on its own facts.
Related Homicide Charges
Other Homicide Charges In Orange, TX
Criminally negligent homicide is often the charge that sits just below a manslaughter allegation. See the full Homicide Crimes defense overview for Orange.
Manslaughter
Recklessly causing a death. A second degree felony with a 2 to 20 year range and no statute of limitations.
Vehicular Manslaughter
Texas has no statute by this name. A death caused by driving is charged under one of four other statutes, from state jail felony to second degree.
Common Questions
Criminally Negligent Homicide Questions People In Orange Ask
What is the punishment for criminally negligent homicide in Orange, TX?
Criminally negligent homicide under Penal Code § 19.05 is a state jail felony. The range is 180 days to 2 years in a state jail facility and a fine of up to $10,000. If it is shown that a deadly weapon, which can include a vehicle, was used or exhibited, § 12.35(c) raises the punishment to the third degree range of 2 to 10 years.
What is the difference between manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in Orange County?
The difference is awareness. Manslaughter under § 19.04 requires that the person was aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death and consciously disregarded it. Criminally negligent homicide under § 19.05 requires only that the person ought to have been aware of that risk and failed to perceive it. The conduct can be identical, and the proof of awareness is what separates the two.
Is a car accident death criminally negligent homicide in Orange, TX?
A fatal collision is not automatically a crime. The state has to prove the driver's failure to perceive the risk was a gross deviation from the care an ordinary person would exercise. Ordinary carelessness that falls short of a gross deviation does not meet the definition of criminal negligence in Penal Code § 6.03(d).
Can criminally negligent homicide be punished as a misdemeanor in Orange County?
Penal Code § 12.44 allows a court to punish a state jail felony conviction with the confinement range for a Class A misdemeanor when it finds that doing so best serves the ends of justice. It also allows a prosecutor to proceed on a state jail felony as a Class A misdemeanor, with the court's approval. Whether either applies is decided in the individual case.
What courts hear criminally negligent homicide cases in Orange, TX?
Criminally negligent homicide is a felony, so it is presented to a grand jury and, if indicted, heard in one of the county's three district courts: the 128th, the 163rd, or the 260th. It is prosecuted by the combined District and County Attorney's Office, which handles both felonies and misdemeanors in the county.
Should I talk to investigators about a death in Orange, TX before I have a lawyer?
Statements are one of the main sources of proof on what a person knew or noticed, and that is the central issue in a negligence case. An attorney can explain your rights before any interview, review what has already been said and deal with investigators for you. Anyone who learns they are under investigation can talk to a lawyer before giving a statement.
Mitchell Law Firm, PLLC
Your Freedom Is Our Fight
A negligent homicide case is a felony built on a claim about what someone should have noticed. The sooner that claim is tested, the more options remain.
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