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The link you sent says Vance does prosecute 'motor crime' (DUIs, fleeing the scene,etc..) Also you forgot to add that it is inherently difficult to prosecute b

by ohsnap 12y ago

The link you sent says Vance does prosecute 'motor crime' (DUIs, fleeing the scene,etc..) Also you forgot to add that it is inherently difficult to prosecute because a jury doesn't see negligent drivers as criminals. You already know about the clement case that Vance lost. I intend to agree that car crashes is one of society's biggest and underrated problems, but your really laying out a big strawman here

thrownaway2424 12y ago
If you define killing people with cars to be out of scope then you're just drawing the system boundaries incorrectly. Let me ask you this: if it's not a crime to kill someone with a car, as long as you're sober and you don't flee the scene, why does anyone murder someone else in New York with a knife or a gun? Wouldn't running them down with a car be the rational choice? After all, they aren't prosecuting the guy who ran over and killed a 3-year-old in a crosswalk, even though there's a video recording of the act. You can be captured on video running down and killing someone and not be prosecuted. Only a fool would choose another weapon.
- gamblor956 12y ago
  Because crime in the US is a matter of intent. If you intend to kill someone, and then do, the exact means of killing are largely irrelevant; you have committed some sort of homicide crime. (The exact means of killing may determine what particular homicide crime has been committed, such as manslaughter vs murder.) That is why people above have been saying that most accidents are not criminal--the driver does not intend to hit the cyclist/pedestrian/whatever. Negligence is generally not a crime in the US except in exceptional circumstances (i.e., negligent homicide, in which the driver's gross negligence while driving--such as texting while the car is moving--results in accident in which someone else dies).
bsder 12y ago
> a jury doesn't see negligent drivers as criminals That's a little harsh. They probably do see them as criminals. However, they can also see themselves being in the defendant's chair for this "crime". Nobody is perfect, and everybody has a story of how they screwed up while driving. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

by ohsnap 12y ago

thrownaway2424 12y ago

If you define killing people with cars to be out of scope then you're just drawing the system boundaries incorrectly. Let me ask you this: if it's not a crime to kill someone with a car, as long as you're sober and you don't flee the scene, why does anyone murder someone else in New York with a knife or a gun? Wouldn't running them down with a car be the rational choice? After all, they aren't prosecuting the guy who ran over and killed a 3-year-old in a crosswalk, even though there's a video recording of the act. You can be captured on video running down and killing someone and not be prosecuted. Only a fool would choose another weapon.

gamblor956 12y ago
Because crime in the US is a matter of intent. If you intend to kill someone, and then do, the exact means of killing are largely irrelevant; you have committed some sort of homicide crime. (The exact means of killing may determine what particular homicide crime has been committed, such as manslaughter vs murder.) That is why people above have been saying that most accidents are not criminal--the driver does not intend to hit the cyclist/pedestrian/whatever. Negligence is generally not a crime in the US except in exceptional circumstances (i.e., negligent homicide, in which the driver's gross negligence while driving--such as texting while the car is moving--results in accident in which someone else dies).

bsder 12y ago

> a jury doesn't see negligent drivers as criminals That's a little harsh. They probably do see them as criminals. However, they can also see themselves being in the defendant's chair for this "crime". Nobody is perfect, and everybody has a story of how they screwed up while driving. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.