 |
FReeper Motorcycle Hooligan  |
| FR motorcycle-related posts | |
| Send FReepmail if you want on/off FMH list | |
Posted on 11/10/2003 3:05:07 PM PST by martin_fierro
Judge: Janklow Jury Can Hear Close Call
Mon Nov 10, 1:22 PM ET
By CARSON WALKER, Associated Press Writer
FLANDREAU, S.D. - Jurors in U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow's upcoming trial in the death of a motorcyclist will hear testimony about a close call at the same intersection, but not about three accidents and 12 speeding tickets in his driving record, a judge ruled Monday.
Janklow, a former South Dakota governor elected to Congress last year, is charged with manslaughter and three misdemeanors for a fatal traffic accident near Trent on Aug. 16.
His trial is due to start Dec. 1. The manslaughter count carries a possible 10 years in prison and $10,000 fine if he is convicted.
Authorities allege that Janklow was driving a Cadillac at 71 mph in a 55-mph zone and had just run a stop sign at a rural intersection when the motorcycle ridden by Randy Scott collided with the car, killing Scott, 55, of Hardwick, Minn.
Janklow, who did not attend Monday's hearing, suffered a broken hand and bleeding on the brain.
Judge Rodney Steele said the law does not allow testimony about Janklow's driving record, including the tickets and accidents, unless he brings up the subject himself. Including that testimony would do more harm by prejudicing jurors than it would to help the state's case, Steele said.
But the judge said testimony about the close call at the same intersection where Scott died has value that outweighs any prejudice it may create with jurors.
That testimony, by Jennifer Walters of Trent, is key to the state's case, said Bill Ellyson, a deputy prosecutor.
According to a sworn statement, Walters said that on Dec. 29, 2002, Janklow nearly hit her family's pickup.
She said they had just gone through the intersection headed east when she heard tires screeching and gravel sliding and saw a white car cross the intersection going north.
"I know a split-second difference would have cost my family and myself our lives. I believe that the driver of the car did not attempt to stop until they saw us, only then braking to avoid a collision," Walters wrote.
She reported the near-miss and was told that a sheriff's deputy had stopped the car and found the driver was Janklow, who was then in his fourth term as governor.
Walters said she didn't file a complaint because of the time off work it would require.
"I also believed that it would be a waste of my time to press the issue any further as he was Bill Janklow, and I felt nothing would ever be done anyways," she wrote.
Janklow's lawyer, Ed Evans, argued Monday that Janklow was not ticketed and there was no proof that he was the one who went through the intersection.
Because Janklow was governor at the time, "it heightens the possibility of unfair prejudice," he said.
|
FReeper Motorcycle Hooligan |
| FR motorcycle-related posts | |
| Send FReepmail if you want on/off FMH list | |
She is probably right and nothing will be done this time either since the jury is not going to hear how reckless always was. This accident was waiting to happen. JANKLOW RESIGN
Records unsealed Tuesday indicate Janklow was ticketed for speeding 12 times and involved in seven accidents since 1990, not including the August crash.
In two of the accidents, as well as in the Trent crash, Janklow reported seeing vehicles no one else saw.
Janklow was governor when three of the accidents occurred. The other accidents and the speeding violations occurred before he took office as governor for a third term in 1995.
A misdemeanor conviction would not affect Janklow's ability to serve in Congress. But the House ethics committee would automatically investigate Janklow if he is convicted of a felony.
INVESTIGATE? If he won't quit they should IMPEACH. Yeah, even if he IS a Pubbie.
In a sworn statement filed Monday, Janklow, 64, says he "knew this intersection very well and had traveled through the intersection occasionally for at least the last 20 years." He also says the intersection had stop signs for north-south traffic. Janklow was traveling south that day.
We post, you decide . . .
It wouldn't be logical that they would. The evidence shows he was going in excess of 70MPH when he blew the stop sign. There are warning signs before stop signs, that also has to be considered. The area at the intersection is flat also, the intersection was not hidden.
The jury would have to come to the conclusion that it was reasonable to miss all the warning signs and fly through the intersection at 70+ MPH.
More than just the accident, there are several questions that need to be asked about this incident. One is these is that Janklow was driving a car owned and insured by a third party. Under Congressional rules, members of Congress cannot take gifts. Clearly, using someone else's car and driving under their insurance is a major violation of House ethics rules.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.