A Model Female Citizen

I don't think so. Lawyers know that to win a case, they need to appeal to the judge and jury, both factually and emotionally. They start when they take the case and they don't let up. I'm sure you'll agree that it's human nature to have more sympathy for females, especially if they're emotionally distraught.

As for the wrong choices remark - I knew you were going to bring that up, and it isn't at all the same thing here. The woman made some bad choices, yes - for which she <b>should</b> be punished, because they resulted in the death of another, one that appears to have been completely avoidable had she taken a couple minutes and called 911 to report the accident. A more accurate link would be between the homeless man and the person "breaking in" to the house. The homeless man made the wrong choice to be walking where he was at that time, or to not wear reflectors, or whatever (incidentally, it appears as though he was likely mentally incapable of concluding that walking in front of a car was a <b>bad idea</b>), just the same as the naked drunk guy made a wrong choice by consuming so much alcohol, going outside to take a leak, and then trying to get back into the wrong house. Where they differ, however, is in the circumstances of their deaths - one guy was, most likely, just crossing the road and wasn't inebriated, whereas the other <b>was</b> drunk and was, whether intentionally or not, attempting to get into someone else's house. Oh well.