Posted on 02/15/2006 1:24:33 PM PST by iPod Shuffle
If lawyer dies, Cheney could face negligent homicide charges
02/15/2006 02:42:17 PM
DALLAS (AP) -- If the man wounded by Dick Cheney dies, the vice president could -- in theory at least -- face criminal charges, even though the shooting was an accident.
Dallas defense attorney David Finn, who has been a state and a federal prosecutor, said Wednesday that a Texas grand jury could bring a charge of criminally negligent homicide if there is evidence the vice president knew or should have known "there was a substantial or unjustifiable risk that his actions would result in him shooting a fellow hunter."
"The risk must be of such a nature and degree that it got to be pretty outrageous -- that a reasonable person would have to say, `I am not pulling the trigger because this other guy might be in front of me,"' Finn said. *
The charge carries up to two years behind bars, but with no previous felonies Cheney would be eligible for probation, the former prosecutor said.
Mark Skurka, first assistant district attorney of the three-county area where the shooting took place, said prosecutors did not have an investigation under way.
"If something unfortunate happens, then we'll decide what to do, then we'll decide whether we're going to have an investigation or not," Skurka said.
Harry Whittington, a 78-year-old lawyer, was struck in the face, neck and chest with shotgun pellets over the weekend while Cheney was shooting at quail. Whittington suffered a mild heart attack Tuesday after a pellet traveled to his heart.
But on Wednesday, hospital officials said he had a normal heart rhythm again and was sitting up in a chair, eating regular food and planned to do some legal work in his hospital room. Doctors said they are highly optimistic he will recover.
In the only other case of someone being shot by a vice president, Aaron Burr was indicted on murder charges in New York and New Jersey for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804, but he was never tried and finished out his term in office.
Last I heard, Mr. Whittington is going to (gasp) live.
the DUmmies and media shills want this man to die.
Boy it's nice to see that the AP is hoping for a speedy recovery. /s
I hope his family has a food taster for him. Having several hundred journalists holding a candlelight vigil outside the hospital would make me nervous.
Wow, simply amazing. The AP is writing wish pieces, absolute wish pieces.
The AP, DUmmies, and the MSM have to be the most craven bunch there is.
Another slow news day,I guess.
James Taranto of the OpinionJournal's Best of the Web Today has an excellent item on this
http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=110007971
In other news...
If I hit the Powerball tonight, I'll be on a warm beach by the weekend.
If that happens, let me know. Until then, I don't care.
This is worth a medium sized headline, and two minutes on the evening news, and thats it. Its a good story, its interesting. Its not a major story except for the day it happens.
If Cheney's friend dies, he'll be distraught. The loss of his friend will be much more painful than any legal action that may result. The human story in all this is the only story that interests me. The press sees only a political story, and this distorts their view of this and every other story they touch.
When this man dies in 20 years at age 98 the press will be claiming it was premature, and due to gunshot by Cheney.
Has anyone gotten a statement from the Swimmer yet?
Yeah, let's the GOP play THAT game too.
The media is just a buncha GHOULS!
If Mr. Whittington dies when he's 88 -- in 10 years -- the press will scream for homicide charges against Cheney.
This is an example of important principle, but doesn't exactly call for this gee-whiz treatment.
Oh, bullpoop! No such charges would ever be filed in the State of Texas. This is just nonsense!
WHEN I win the powerball tonight, I will deposit my lump sum check and head to the Carribean to shop for a small island.
If a frog had a tail...
I'll be on one Sunday whether I win or not tonight.
Yep! Lots of wishful thinking going on here. But then,
it's nothing new.
With my tin foil helmet securely fastened, might I suggest posting a guard at his room, less some "looney-leftist" assist Mr. Whittingham to an "early demise," (a trait learned from bubba clintoon) in their on-going effort to be disruptive to our political process & America in general.
What law did he break?
I'm hoping that the next time Cheney goes hunting, he takes the entire newsroom from each of the following: NY Times, WA Post, Boston Globe, Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel.
IF I were 78 and IF I were in the hospital AND IF I were a lawyer, I doubt I would want to do some legal work in my hospital room. Unless it was a cute nurse who wanted to see my legal briefs.
These people are morbid. Don't they have anything better to do than speculate about people dying?
And, if my Aunt had b@lls, she'd be my uncle.
Words fail.
The AP is morbid...
EXACTLY! If Cheney is gonna be charged, then we can indict Ted Kennedy for Chappaquiddick, since there's no Statute of Limitations for murder.
However outrageous as that might sound, you are right. They are unhinged.
Bad news for the left. Mr Whittington is sitting up in his bed, eating food and doing some lawyer work. :-)
Nice of them to make comparisons between Aaron Burr (who fired with full knowledge & evil intent upon Alex Hamilton) and Richard Cheney (who possessed neither).
Yeah. when monkeys fly out my rear.
Bush will say nope, because it would be a circus and drag every other political hack into the "discovery" process.
Can anyone say pardon.
roflmao
The "morbid", the merrier. [j/k]
The MSM is such idiots..I hope they get what they want but not in the person they want to die..maybe they will get their wish if Harry Reid dies..You know the one that waited three days before reporting his heart attack to the idiot media..
It almost impossible to prosecute a hunting accident. We used to joke that if you wanted to take somebody out, and get away with it, take them hunting.
The medical examiner gave many incredible rulings, including that murder victims committed suicide and that one victim's head could not be studied because it was eaten by a dog. The family exhumed the body, finding head intact. the examiner was supposed to be fired but instead got a raise from - Jocelyn Elders.
So if the hunter dies, Cheney just needs a medical examiner on the take, like Clinton had. The media covers up such evil for democrats, it's amazing.
ha ha ha
Sheesh...that one note in Taranto's column about Hillary and Kennedy laughing during an Armed Forces Committee hearing...
It says she threw back her head a laughed so loud it eched in the chamber...
YIKES...we all know how bad her cackle sounds...it sent shivers up my neck..just reading about it...LOL
David Finn, Fort Worth Texas criminal defense lawyer concentrating in drunk driving (DWI), possession of drugs and other controlled substances
attorney David Finn was selected by his fellow lawyers as a "Texas Super Lawyer"
Dallas personal injury lawyer, David Finn concentrating in wrongful death, medical malpractice, premises liability and defective products cases.
******
From the age of 10, Judge David Finn knew he was destined to become a lawyer. His father, Dallas lawyer Frank Finn took him on a business trip to Washington, D.C. where David was planted in the front row of a large, crowded room and was told by his father, "keep your eyes and ears open and you’ll learn something – this is history." So, for a week, he watched the Watergate hearings. That week motivated him to become a trial lawyer.
He majored in politics and minored in Latin American Studies
Judge Finn says that he learned his most valuable lessons about being a judge before he was even sworn in, when he stayed home for nine months to care for his one-year old son, Liam, so that his wife Melissa, who received her B.A. from Texas A&M and her M.A. from the Columbia School of Journalism, could go back to work as editor at The Associated Press in Dallas.
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.