The Senavitis case ended when his Pennsylvania DUI lawyer got him acquitted on the charge of vehicular manslaughter.
Thomas Senavitis was on trial for vehicular manslaughter while DUI. He had allegedly been driving drunk when his pickup truck collided with the Cadillac of a prominent Pennsylvania politician. The politician, State Senator James Rhoades, died in hospital the next day.
As discussed in an earlier post on this blog, the key question came down to whether the jury believed, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Thomas Senavitis was the sole cause of the Senator's death.
The jury could not find Senavitis guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and as such, Senavitis was only found guilty of the lesser charge of driving while intoxicated (DUI).
A Pennsylvania DUI attorney handles the issue of proof very carefully. A DUI trial, as with any criminal trial, rests largely on the evidence. The evidence is, essentially, what convinces the jury. Of course, when the evidence against the accused is in the form of a breathalyzer test, then that can usually be strong evidence in a DUI case and the Pennsylvania DUI lawyer would need to be crafty to negate any such evidence. Generally, a Pennsylvania DUI lawyer will normally have their client plead guilty at the arraignment, unless there is any good reason to go forward and contest the evidence.
This case is certainly a victory for Senavitis' Pennsylvania DUI lawyer, who was a public defender in this case. The fact that he was able to clear Senavitis of the more serious charges shows how important the "reasonable cause" standard can be. What may have been the strongest piece of evidence in this case was the defense evidence that the vehicles did not hit in a head-on collision. Rather, they hit at an angle, suggesting that Senator Rhoades' vehicle may have been in the wrong lane at the time of impact.
Of course, we've also discussed the fact that the acquittal does not necessarily mean that there won't be a civil lawsuit against Senavitis. The standards of review are entirely different in civil and criminal cases. As such, an acquittal does not mean that a civil court won't find Senavitis guilty, by a "preponderance of the evidence" of Senator Rhoades' death.
A good Pennsylvania DUI lawyer would know the difference and some may even be able to assist in the civil case.
Related Resources
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Acquittal in Rhoades DUI Case (The Philadelphia DUI Law Blog)
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Defense witness says Rhoades caused own death (Pocono Record)
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Find a Pennsylvania DUI Lawyer (FindLaw)
