CVO Lawyer St. Paul
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Criminal Vehicular Operation & Criminal Vehicular Homicide
Minnesota Attorney Robert H. Ambrose has a significant amount of experience defending people charged with Criminal Vehicular Operation. In numerous cases, he has prevented the conviction for this serious offense. Because accidents and injuries are involved, Attorney Ambrose will often consult with accident reconstruction experts and forensic scientists to provide the best defense possible.
Navigating the criminal justice system on your own can be scary enough for any offense. But for the severe charges of Criminal Vehicular Operation and Criminal Vehicular Homicide, it can be daunting.
CVO charges depend on the nature of the injuries, which include: death, great bodily harm, substantial bodily harm, and bodily harm. Below is more information about these different levels of criminal vehicular operation and its penalties.
Criminal Vehicular Operation (CVO) – Levels of Harm
CVO
Great Bodily Harm
Criminal Vehicular Operation – Great Bodily Harm is a felony offense with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Examples of this type of harm include paralysis or the loss of a limb. A person may be guilty of CVO – Great Bodily Harm, if they operated a motor vehicle in the following situations:
- gross negligent manner
- negligent manner under the influence of:
- alcohol
- a controlled substance
- a combination of alcohol and a controlled substance
- while having a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or more; or .08 or more within two hours of driving
- in a negligent manner while knowlingly under the influence of a hazardous substance
- in a negligent manner with any amount of a Schedule I or II Controlled Substance, or its metabolite, other than marijuana or THC
- when the driver causes the accident and leaves the scene
- when a police officer has issued a warning or citation for a defectively maintained vehicle, and the driver fails to take remedial action while knowing the defect could create danger to others, and the defect caused the injury
CVO
Substantial Bodily Harm
CVO – Substantial Bodily Harm is also a felony. It has a maximum penalty of up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Examples of substantial bodily harm include broken bones and deep lacerations. A driver may be guilty of criminal vehicular operation if they caused substantial bodily harm while driving a motor vehicle:
- grossly negligent
- in a negligent manner while:
- under the influence of alcohol
- under the influence of a controlled substance
- under the influence of a combination of the two
- with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or more, or .08 or more within two hours of driving
- in a negligent manner while knowingly under the influence of a hazardous substance
- in a negligent manner with any level of controlled substance, schedule I or II, or its metabolite, other than marijuana or tetrahydrocannibols
- left the scene of the accident
- with a defectively maintained vehicle after being cited or warned by an officer for the defect; and then causing an injury because of the defect while knowing the defect created a danger to others
CVO
Bodily Harm
CVO – Bodily Harm is a gross misdemeanor offense with a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail and a $3,000 fine. Examples of bodily harm are bruises, bump on the head, and even minor scrapes. A person may be guilty of criminal vehicular operation causing bodily harm, if they operated a motor vehicle while:
- in a grossly negligent manner
- in a negligent manner while under the influence of:
- alcohol
- controlled substance
- a combination of alcohol and a controlled substance
- while having an alcohol concentration of .08 or more, or having an alcohol concentration of .08 or more within two hours of operating the motor vehicle
- in a negligent manner while knowingly under the influence of a hazardous substance
- in a negligent manner while any amount of a Schedule I or II Controlled Substance, or its metabolite, other than THC or marijuana, is present in a person’s body
- where the driver who causes the accident leaves the scene of the accident
- where the driver had actual knowledge of a warning or citation from a peace officer that the vehicle was defectively maintained, the driver had actual knowledge that remedial action was not taken, the driver had reason to know the defect presented a danger to others, and the injury was caused by defective maintenance
Criminal Vehicular Homicide (CVH)
CVH
Criminal Vehicular Homicide
- in a grossly negligent manner
- in a negligent manner under the influence of:
- alcohol
- controlled substance
- any combination of the two
- having an alcohol concentration of .08 or more, or .08 or more within two hours of driving
- in a negligent manner while knowingly under the influence of a hazardous substance
- in a negligent manner with any amount of a Schedule I or II controlled substance, or its metabolite, other than marijuana or THC in a person’s body
- leaving the scene of the collision after causing the collision
- after being citated or warned that the vehicle was defectively maintained, actually knowing remedial action was not taken, knowing the defect created a present danger to others, and the death was caused by the defective maintenance
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