Opinion ID: 2185961
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Involuntary Manslaughter as a Lesser Included Offense of Vehicular Homicide.

Text: The court instructed the jury upon the charge of vehicular homicide and the lesser included offense of operating while intoxicated (OWI). The court denied Dominguez' request that the court also submit an instruction on involuntary manslaughter under Iowa Code section 707.5(2), an aggravated misdemeanor, as a lesser included offense. We have adopted a legal elements test, with two exceptions, which is used to determine when a court must instruct on a lesser included offense. See State v. Jeffries, 430 N.W.2d 728 (Iowa 1988). Under this test, a lesser offense is necessarily included in the greater offense, if the greater offense cannot be committed without also committing the lesser offense. State v. McNitt, 451 N.W.2d 824, 825 (Iowa 1990). The elements of the charge of vehicular homicide are that the defendant: (1) Unintentionally caused the death of another by (2) operating a motor vehicle (a) while under the influence of drugs or alcohol or (b) while having an alcohol concentration of .10 or more. See Iowa Code § 707.6A. See also Iowa Criminal Jury Instruction 700.19. The elements of involuntary manslaughter are that the defendant: (1) Unintentionally caused the death of another by (2) commission of an act in a manner likely to cause death or serious injury. See Iowa Code § 707.5(2). See also Iowa Criminal Jury Instruction 700.18. When we look at the elements of vehicular homicide under section 707.6A and involuntary manslaughter under section 707.5(2), we find that involuntary manslaughter requires that the defendant commit an act in a manner likely to cause death or serious injury. We have defined the word act in Iowa Code section 707.5(2) as an act which is not a public offense. State v. Dvorsky, 322 N.W.2d 62, 66 (Iowa 1982). This is in contrast with involuntary manslaughter under section 707.5(1), a class D felony, which requires the act be a public offense. Here, one of the elements of the vehicular homicide charge is proof of an act which is a public offense, OWI. Thus, involuntary manslaughter under section 707.5(2) is not a lesser included offense of vehicular homicide. The court correctly denied Dominguez' requested instruction.