Sean Higgins' attorneys files a motion to dismiss charges- Claims the Gaudreau brothers were more intoxicated than Sean Higgins was.

[kingsholygrail]

Exactly, we don't know. What if they fell into each other and into his path just as he was driving by? This could open a whole can of worms and reveal facts we didn't know


I wouldn't go that far, pretty hard to accidentally kill someone while biking drunk, lol, but stranger things have happened I guess

I guess it's more along the lines of whose behavior was noted by witnesses.

 

[Hazy Little Thing]

Easy. An autopsy would be done in order to determine cause of death. Look up when an autopsies are done in NJ, and you'll understand why.

Part of an autopsy would have been blood tests, to see if the Gaudreaus had any drugs/alcohol, etc in their system, because their death is part of a criminal investigation and that information is relevant to that investigation.

If the prosecution withheld information from the defense for whatever reason (wanted to nail this guy, wanted to protect the Gaudreaus reputation, didn't think their BAC was relevant, or whatever their motivation), that's a potentially huge failure of discovery of evidence.

Also to anyone saying the Gaudreaus BAC isn't relevant, ...if the prosecution had this information before the indictment (they had Higgins BAC), so they probably had the Gaudreaus. They have a legal responsibility to share that information. It's not up to the prosecution decide what information is or isn't relevant before going infront of a grand jury... That's the courts and grand jurys job. To decide what is relevant, and if there's enough evidence to go to a trial.

I’m not sure what you’re getting at here. The prosecutors don’t own the autopsies of the brothers, the DA had full access to that if they wanted it.

It a crime in lots of places

You can be in your driveway sitting on the hood of your car with beers and be charged. No keys in the car

You could be hammered and going into a car to get a jacket. If a cops right there he can charge you if he wants

But it’s not a crime in NJ. Not sure why so many people are missing this key point after it’s been pointed out numerous times.

 

[Hazy Little Thing]

​

Riding a bike drunk is illegal. Any and all illegal activity is 100% relevant to any case. Always.
Now whether or not it played a part in their death is for the GJ to decide.
Oversight by any competent prosecution.

While not subject to DWI punishment, riding a bicycle while impaired is still illegal in NJ.


Can You Get a DUI on a Bike? - Updated Jan 2025

Buddy, maybe you’re not familiar with American law, but it varies state to state. In the state that they were in it’s not illegal. Please stop this disinformation campaign of yours against the brothers. It’s either accidental or trolling.

 

[AlwaysSunnyInDetroit]

the driver of the vehicle that nick adenhart was killed in by a drunk driver, was herself drunk. he still got 51 years to life

 

[CaviarAndRinkFries]

 

[1989]

Buddy, maybe you’re not familiar with American law, but it varies state to state. In the state that they were in it’s not illegal. Please stop this disinformation campaign of yours against the brothers. It’s either accidental or trolling.

Look, I get wanting to defend the Gaudreaus from fault, either legal or moral but it's illegal to ride a bike while intoxicated in New Jersey. It's not necessarily a DUI charge, but it's still illegal in other forms such as public intoxication or disorderly conduct, or whatever else the law wants to call it. It's punishable misconduct.

The truth is that all of this sucks, the lawyers are doing their jobs, and we'd all rather have the Gaudreau boys alive and that the ugliness of this all never happened. I hate all of this. I can't imagine how his family feels.

 

[AlwaysSunnyInDetroit]

Exactly, we don't know. What if they fell into each other and into his path just as he was driving by? This could open a whole can of worms and reveal facts we didn't know


I wouldn't go that far, pretty hard to accidentally kill someone while biking drunk, lol, but stranger things have happened I guess

if i remember correctly, the driver of the vehicle swerved onto the shoulder to pass another car on a narrow 2 lane road. even if he was stone cold sober, that is grossly negligent homicide

 

[Barsky]

if i remember correctly, the driver of the vehicle swerved onto the shoulder to pass another car on a narrow 2 lane road. even if he was stone cold sober, that is grossly negligent homicide

Yup, that's what I heard too, but I wasn't there and the case isn't over, so whatever we may or may not "correctly remember" doesn't really mean much

 

[Rubi]

Personally I don't have a lot of faith in the justice system. In so many cases "justice" is a misnomer.

 

[Rebels57]

If a drunk person kills another drunk person unprovoked on the street with a gun or other weapon, it's still murder. They don't get acquitted because the other person was also intoxicated. This isn't going to help Higgins much if at all unless the eye witnesses say the brothers were driving erratically or crime scene forensics indicate they were riding where they shouldn't have been. As far as we know, that has not happened. Higgins himself never claimed that when questioned. He admitted to drinking 5 or 6 beers, getting impatient with a car in front of him, and swerving onto the shoulder to pass where he then mowed them down.

Open and Shut case. No jury is going to acquit him because the Gaudreau brothers had a few beers prior to their bike ride, unless a witness or the crime scene forensics indicate any fault on their part (likely celebrating being reunited prior to their sisters wedding).

 

[AlwaysSunnyInDetroit]

Yup, that's what I heard too, but I wasn't there and the case isn't over, so whatever we may or may not "correctly remember" doesn't really mean much

are you this guys lawyer or something? a 30 second google search informed me that is exactly what happened, except it was a single lane rural road. there's a reason people who drive like that are considered ***holes

attempting to deflect blame by questioning the morality of the victims is pathetic, and won't be forgotten by jurors. i wonder what his defense strategy would have been if he had ran over a group of children on their big wheels? their parents had given them too much candy to be playing safely?

 

[Cursed Lemon]

If the Gaudreau brothers were hit on the shoulder of the road, how can this possibly be relevant

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I mean, the driver did one of the dickest moves ever, swerving to pass on the right on a single-lane road? I don't care if his blood alcohol was ZERO, that's still a blatantly illegal move. Then he kills 2 people doing it? Throw the whole DUI out the window, he is still guilty of a heinous act, right?

 

[Barsky]

are you this guys lawyer or something? a 30 second google search informed me that is exactly what happened, except it was a single lane rural road. there's a reason people who drive like that are considered ***holes

attempting to deflect blame by questioning the morality of the victims is pathetic, and won't be forgotten by jurors. i wonder what his defense strategy would have been if he had ran over a group of children on their big wheels? their parents had given them too much candy to be playing safely?

Oh you asked the internet did you? Case closed then, that's never wrong, why even have a trial?... It's a lawyer doing his job, I hate them as much as the next guy, but such is life. This guy is still going away for a long time, just a matter of due process

 

[Barsky]

I mean, the driver did one of the dickest moves ever, swerving to pass on the right on a single-lane road? I don't care if his blood alcohol was ZERO, that's still a blatantly illegal move. Then he kills 2 people doing it? Throw the whole DUI out the window, he is still guilty of a heinous act, right?

Probably, we'll know soon enough, just lawyers doing lawyer BS

 

[ToDavid]

Look, I get wanting to defend the Gaudreaus from fault, either legal or moral but it's illegal to ride a bike while intoxicated in New Jersey. It's not necessarily a DUI charge, but it's still illegal in other forms such as public intoxication or disorderly conduct, or whatever else the law wants to call it. It's punishable misconduct.

You're really stretching here. That you could pick up a disorderly conduct or public intoxication charge while riding a bike, does not make it "illegal to ride a bike while intoxicated." Riding the bike while intoxicated would not be the crime, your behaviour while doing so would be.

 

[olli]

But would the Gaudreau brother have still been killed had they been sober?? Very very likely yes so I don’t see what difference it makes in terms of Higgins sentence.

 

[SensontheRush]

i imagine this will be successful and he will get a lighter sentence. i'm mostly surprised by the amount of people all over social media and in this thread apparently under the impression it's legal to ride a bike under the influence in the street

You mean on the shoulder? ie, not in the street.

 

[Barsky]

But would the Gaudreau brother have still been killed had they been sober?? Very very likely yes so I don’t see what difference it makes in terms of Higgins sentence.

A logical assumption for sure, but still an assumption at the end of the day

 

[93LEAFS]

So now you’re going from proceedure was followed, to proceedure doest matter. Okay.

And yes it does matter. The brothers were doing something illegal when killed. This would be considered relevant information in any and every court case.
Now whether that played a part in their death is for the GJ to decide. However failure to even present this info is a screw up.

Yeah, while it would be a shame to see him getting off on a technicality, the DA potentially really f***ed up here. With such a high-profile case (and all cases in general), they should check every single box so a defence attorney can't leverage something like this. Considering this guys actions on the road, it's highly unlikely this would have had a significant impact on the grand jury. Instead, they gave the defence attorney something to attack the prosecution with.

I don't think the major issue here is that the Gaudreau's were drunk, the issue here is whether the prosecution didn't present evidence to the grand jury that could have been impactful.

 

[Golden_Jet]

A logical assumption for sure, but still an assumption at the end of the day

It wouldn’t make any difference. What changes?

 

[Barsky]

It wouldn’t make any difference. What changes?

They weren't sober so we'll never know, obviously... See the last comment, from 93Leafs, for a voice of reason. Bill Cosby is a free man, let's not forget, this is the US justice system we're dealing with here

 

[Golden_Jet]

They weren't sober so we'll never know, obviously... See the last comment, from 93Leafs, for a voice of reason. Bill Cosby is a free man, let's not forget, this is the US justice system we're dealing with here

Makes no difference

 

[Barsky]

Makes no difference

Do you understand how alcohol affects the body and what it does to vision, reaction times and coordination? It doesn't seem like it. Maybe if they're sober they see him coming sooner and react quicker, but again, that's an assumption and we will never know and logically like I said, it probably doesn't make a difference

 

[1989]

You're really stretching here. That you could pick up a disorderly conduct or public intoxication charge while riding a bike, does not make it "illegal to ride a bike while intoxicated." Riding the bike while intoxicated would not be the crime, your behaviour while doing so would be.

I'm not stretching anything - kindly read it for yourself, or don't. Your knowledge on the matter of the law is not my responsibility and it exists as written.

In simple language: "Riding a manually-operated bicycle while intoxicated is illegal in New Jersey, but the charges may not fall under the category of DUI." I am not writing this on my own; it is, as interpreted by lawyers, their language used if you want to go do a Google search for the specifics yourself.