Looking through recent news reports from California, you're bound to find a few discussing investigations of arson, ranging from an alleged attempt to cause an explosion at a fraternity house to the origins of a suspicious brush fire. Though arson can take on many forms, it generally involves setting a fire deliberately or recklessly to a building, property or land (e.g. a forest). If you're charged with arson, what will prosecutors have to prove?
Intent
The courts will have to prove that if you did cause a fire, it was not simply an accident.
They will have to show that either you set the fire with deliberate intent or as a result of recklessness (e.g. you didn't take legally required or basic safety precautions, which led the fire to spread out of control). Arson mostly applies to fires on other people's land and property, which includes even relatively minor personal belongings such as a chair or a trash can. However, it can also apply to what you yourself own - for instance, if you set your own house or car on fire in order to harm family members or obtain money from an insurance company, you would be charged with arson.
Proof
Proving arson isn't always simple. First, the courts would have to provide strong evidence of your intentions, which could be a motive to harm others, cause general destruction to property, or collect insurance money. Intent isn't always clear. Furthermore, it isn't always easy to distinguish between recklessness and a simple accident.
Physical evidence would need to be gathered on the scene. Arson investigators know what signs to look for that indicate that a fire was either deliberately set or went out of control due to a lack of basic precautions. However, sometimes the evidence on the scene is muddled. Furthermore, even if there are signs of arson, it doesn't necessarily mean that you were the one who set the fire.
Charges
The severity of the charges you would face in court depend on a number of factors, including:
- Whether the arson resulted in people's death or injury.
- The degree to which other people were endangered (e.g. a brush fire that spread - or could have spread - quickly, damaging numerous homes, displacing people, and causing significant harm to life and property).
- The extent of the property damage.
- The type of property involved.
- The underlying motives of the arson (e.g. recklessness vs. deliberate intent to kill people).
- Your criminal history.
Arson is a complex crime that takes on many forms. The evidence isn't always clear cut, and sometimes people who are innocent get convicted of arson because it seems like they would have the motive and ability to perpetrate the crime. If you're charged with arson, you need to contact capable defense attorneys who will carefully go over your case and advocate for you, which in part involves scrutinizing and questioning the proof brought against you by prosecutors and police.
If you or a loved one has been arrested for arson in Temecula, Murrieta, Hemet, Lake Elsinore, Corona or Riverside, please call us immediately. We can help!