43
   

I just don’t understand drinking and driving

 
 
ehBeth
 
  2  
Reply Fri 9 Mar, 2012 06:55 pm
@OmSigDAVID,
I don't want to ignore you - I appreciate many of your posts - I just thumb down the ones with the bigger/bolder/brighter hilites after I've read them - I find they visually distract from other folks' posts.
firefly
 
  2  
Reply Fri 9 Mar, 2012 09:05 pm
@OmSigDAVID,
David, you, or others folowing this thread, might be interested in this trial which begins next Tuesday. It is also in Florida and is a DUI manslaughter/leaving the scene case, and Roy Black is a top-notch defense attorney, so his trial strategy should be interesting.
Quote:
Defense strategy previewed in selecting jury for Goodman manslaughter trial
By Peter Franceschina
Sun Sentinel
March 8, 2012

The first hint of polo mogul John Goodman's defense to a DUI-manslaughter charge emerged Thursday in the third and final day of jury selection.

Miami defense attorney Roy Black repeatedly quizzed prospective jurors on their attitudes about drinking and then driving immediately afterward, whether they had heard of a car malfunctioning while being driven and made reference to "sudden acceleration in cars."

Black also asked jurors about "temporary amnesia" and if they ever had suffered a concussion and, afterward, did not know what they were doing.

"What if you have a couple of drinks right before you drive and you're not impaired or above the lawful limit," Black asked one prospective juror.

A number of prospective jurors agreed that it was not illegal for them to drive after a few drinks if they were not impaired or above the legal blood-alcohol limit of .08 percent.

Black also asked if anyone would call a loved one after an emergency rather than call 911.

All of those questions reflected on aspects of the Goodman case.

Prosecutors say Goodman, 48, was driving his Bentley convertible at 63 mph south on 120th Avenue in Wellington and ran a stop sign at Lake Worth Road, smashing into a Hyundai driven by Scott Wilson, 23, who was on his way home from Orlando to visit family.

The crash happened around 1 a.m. Feb. 12, 2010. Prosecutors allege that in the hours before the crash Goodman — the founder of Polo Club International Palm Beach — had been drinking at two Wellington watering holes that cater to the polo community.

The impact flipped Wilson's car upside down into a canal and he drowned. Goodman was charged with DUI-manslaughter and vehicular homicide while failing to render aid. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

After the crash, Goodman left the scene. He ended up at a nearby trailer, where he used a woman's cell phone to call his girlfriend in Atlanta before calling 911, about an hour after a passerby first reported the crash, according to court records.

Three hours after the crash, Goodman's blood-alcohol level was measured at .177 percent, more than twice the legal limit to drive.

In his questions, Black suggested that Goodman may only have had a few drinks before the crash. The defense has a blood-alcohol expert who could testify that Goodman's blood-alcohol level was on the rise in the hours following the crash.

Prosecutors repeatedly objected to Black's line of questions. They objected to the car-crash questions and when Black asked if anyone had suffered a concussion and memory loss.

Black's questions also suggest one defense for Goodman may be that he suffered a concussion in the crash and did not have his wits about him afterward. Black also asked if jurors ever had suffered "temporary amnesia."

Palm Beach Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath cut off that line of questions after prosecution objections. The judge told Black he was improperly trying to "condition" jurors. "That's where I lose my patience," Colbath said.

By the end of the day, a jury was seated — five men and one woman, all middle-age or older. The two alternates are women. The judge has largely shielded their personal information because of heavy media coverage.

Opening statements are set for Tuesday morning, and prosecutors have said they expect their case to take up to five days. The defense plans to put on several days of testimony.

The focal point of the trial will be how much Goodman had to drink and when, with competing experts testifying to his blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash.

A wrongful-death suit filed against Goodman by Wilson's parents, William and Lili Wilson, is scheduled to begin in late March, after the conclusion of the criminal trial.

Several prospective jurors said they were familiar with media coverage of that case, including recent reports concerning Goodman's adoption of his 42-year-old girlfriend, making her a beneficiary of a $300 million trust for his two minor children.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/crime/fl-john-goodman-criminal-trial-day3-20120308,0,6256876.story

It should be an interesting trial. Black is apparently going to try to contend that Goodman may have been drinking after the crash to calm his nerves, to try to raise reasonable doubt about whether he was DUI at the time of the accident. As I recall, you had suggested something similar as a defense in Swift's situation. Like Swift, Goodman had been drinking in a bar prior to the crash. I expect this will be the best defense that money can buy in a case like this.
Rockhead
 
  1  
Reply Fri 9 Mar, 2012 09:10 pm
@firefly,
fifty bucks says regardless of the trial outcome that they settle the wrongful death suit for a bundle...

the pricey theatrics won't help in the civil case.

I agree it will be interesting to watch all that money at work in the criminal trial...

the best liars money can buy.
firefly
 
  1  
Reply Fri 9 Mar, 2012 10:21 pm
@Rockhead,
They are just now reporting that Goodman's civil suit has been settled.
Quote:

Posted: 10:01 PM
Last Updated: 29 minutes ago
By: WPTV Web Team

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Sources tell NewsChannel 5 that a settlement in the wrongful death civil suit against Wellington polo tycoon John Goodman has been reached.

Those sources say the settlement was reached last week, but all parties agreed to keep terms confidential.

According to published reports, the parents of Scott Wilson, who filed the suit, sought up to $100 million dollars in damages.

Sources say the settlement is beyond ten million dollars, but how far beyond they would not confirm.
http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/wellington-polo-mogul-john-goodmans-civil-suit-settled#ixzz1ogTJWfdH

You were right, it was for a bundle.

It won't replace the child the Wilsons lost.
firefly
 
  1  
Reply Fri 9 Mar, 2012 10:35 pm
@Rockhead,
The Wilsons also sued the place that served alcohol to Goodman and received a large settement from them.
Quote:
Report: Wellington's Goodman settles civil suit in wrongful death case
By Daphne Duret and Jane Musgrave
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Updated: 11:19 p.m. Friday, March 9, 2012

Wellington polo mogul John Goodman has settled a lawsuit with the parents of a 23-year-old man he killed in a February 2010 accident where investigators say he was driving drunk, ABC news reported tonight.

The settlement comes just days before a jury is slated to hear opening statements in Goodman's criminal trial on charges of DUI manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident involving the death of Scott Wilson.

William and Lili Wilson filed a wrongful death suit against Goodman two months after their son's death, and a trial in the case was to begin this month. Attorneys in the civil case reached late Friday declined to comment on the reports.

"Due to the pendency of the criminal trial, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have no comment about the civil trial at this time," said Scott Smith, an attorney for the Wilsons.

Smith would neither confirm or deny that a settlement was in place.

The settlement reported by ABC News comes more than two years after Goodman's Bentley slammed into Wilson's Hyundai, flipping it into a canal where Wilson drowned as Goodman walked away. He eventually called 911 an hour later on a borrowed cell phone after calling his girlfriend.

Wilsons and their lawyers have been in court during jury selection in the DUI manslaughter trial this week.

Lili Wilson has taken copious notes through each day. At one point, when a prospective juror revealed her 8-year-old daughter had died from complications of an illness, Lili Wilson dabbed at tears in her eyes and wiped her nose.

At one point in the case this week in the criminal case, Wilson family attorney Christian Searcy asked prosecutors to request that he be allowed in on sidebar conferences in the case.

"I think the fact that the defendant is permitted to approach, and all the other attorneys in the case can come up but they cannot - I think that's what is making them feel a bit left out," Searcy said on behalf of the Wilsons.

The Wilsons previously reached a settlement in June with the Players Club Bar and Restaurant, where witnesses say Goodman drank with friends immediately before the crash.

Details of that settlement have not been disclosed, but it has been rumored to be as high as $6 million. Prosecutors and Goodman's criminal defense team agreed this week that jurors in Goodman's DUI manslaughter case should not hear testimony about that settlement.

A blood test from three hours after the crash placed Goodman's blood alcohol level at more than twice the level at which drivers are presumed impaired.

The civil case became the subject of international attention when Goodman adopted his longtime girlfriend, socialite Heather Hutchins, 42, in an apparent maneuver to shield one-third of his fortune from the Wilsons' lawsuit.

Neither of his two children are 35 years old, the age they are given access to the family trust.

In total, Hutchins could receive as much as $200 million over the next 40 years.

The adoption came up during jury selection in the case, where some prospective jurors said they thought the move was strange.

A female juror described it a "crazy" but said she didn't think any differently of Goodman because of it. She is now the lone woman on the jury with five men who will decide whether to convict or acquit Goodman.

If convicted on both the criminal charges against him, Goodman faces up to 30 years in prison.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/report-wellingtons-goodman-settles-civil-suit-in-wrongful-2228606.html

OmSigDAVID
 
  1  
Reply Fri 9 Mar, 2012 11:31 pm
@Rockhead,
Rockhead wrote:
fifty bucks says regardless of the trial outcome
that they settle the wrongful death suit for a bundle...

the pricey theatrics won't help in the civil case.

I agree it will be interesting to watch all that money at work
in the criminal trial...

the best liars money can buy.
Tell us Rocky:
if u were in that situation
(regardless of your actual drinking habits),
woud U want your legal counsel to be talented
and to have an adroit, professionally creative imagination ?

or a shlump ? Do tell us!? Please ?





David
OmSigDAVID
 
  1  
Reply Fri 9 Mar, 2012 11:42 pm
@ehBeth,
ehBeth wrote:
I don't want to ignore you - I appreciate many of your posts - I just
thumb down the ones with the bigger/bolder/brighter hilites after
I've read them - I find they visually distract from other folks' posts.
OK, Beth; use your best judgment.
I just thawt that it 'd save u some manual work.

My torpor is such as to limit my responses sometimes,
moving me to take shortcuts, e.g. attracting particular attention
to the exact passages in posts to which I'm responding,
by use of size and color.

I earnestly believe that this is helpful
in attracting the requisite specific attention.
I gotta be me.





David
0 Replies
 
Rockhead
 
  1  
Reply Fri 9 Mar, 2012 11:44 pm
@OmSigDAVID,
the best liars money can buy...

(I don't drink and drive, dave.)
hawkeye10
 
  -1  
Reply Fri 9 Mar, 2012 11:47 pm
@firefly,
The Goodman case shows well that when old money gets wrapped up in the American "justice" system it is often a winning lottery ticket for someone. Ten seconds of bad luck after irresponsible behavior can rub out generations of reward for for a family assisting the collective in good works. Hopefully at some point soon there will be consensus that we can delay no longer in fixing America, this kind of abusive BS being one motivator. .
Rockhead
 
  2  
Reply Fri 9 Mar, 2012 11:53 pm
@firefly,
he adopted his girlfriend...

how greedy and weird is that?

can he be charged with incest now if they have sex?

rich people are creepy...
hawkeye10
 
  -1  
Reply Sat 10 Mar, 2012 12:07 am
@Rockhead,
Quote:
rich people are creepy...


And you being the idiot that you are will argue all day long against prejudice and bigotry...
0 Replies
 
OmSigDAVID
 
  1  
Reply Sat 10 Mar, 2012 12:11 am
@firefly,
firefly wrote:
David, you, or others folowing this thread, might be interested in this trial which begins next Tuesday. It is also in Florida and is a DUI manslaughter/leaving the scene case, and Roy Black is a top-notch defense attorney, so his trial strategy should be interesting.
Quote:
Defense strategy previewed in selecting jury for Goodman manslaughter trial
By Peter Franceschina
Sun Sentinel
March 8, 2012

The first hint of polo mogul John Goodman's defense to a DUI-manslaughter charge emerged Thursday in the third and final day of jury selection.

Miami defense attorney Roy Black repeatedly quizzed prospective jurors on their attitudes about drinking and then driving immediately afterward, whether they had heard of a car malfunctioning while being driven and made reference to "sudden acceleration in cars."

Black also asked jurors about "temporary amnesia" and if they ever had suffered a concussion and, afterward, did not know what they were doing.

"What if you have a couple of drinks right before you drive and you're not impaired or above the lawful limit," Black asked one prospective juror.

A number of prospective jurors agreed that it was not illegal for them to drive after a few drinks if they were not impaired or above the legal blood-alcohol limit of .08 percent.

Black also asked if anyone would call a loved one after an emergency rather than call 911.

All of those questions reflected on aspects of the Goodman case.

Prosecutors say Goodman, 48, was driving his Bentley convertible at 63 mph south on 120th Avenue in Wellington and ran a stop sign at Lake Worth Road, smashing into a Hyundai driven by Scott Wilson, 23, who was on his way home from Orlando to visit family.

The crash happened around 1 a.m. Feb. 12, 2010. Prosecutors allege that in the hours before the crash Goodman — the founder of Polo Club International Palm Beach — had been drinking at two Wellington watering holes that cater to the polo community.

The impact flipped Wilson's car upside down into a canal and he drowned. Goodman was charged with DUI-manslaughter and vehicular homicide while failing to render aid. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

After the crash, Goodman left the scene. He ended up at a nearby trailer, where he used a woman's cell phone to call his girlfriend in Atlanta before calling 911, about an hour after a passerby first reported the crash, according to court records.

Three hours after the crash, Goodman's blood-alcohol level was measured at .177 percent, more than twice the legal limit to drive.

In his questions, Black suggested that Goodman may only have had a few drinks before the crash. The defense has a blood-alcohol expert who could testify that Goodman's blood-alcohol level was on the rise in the hours following the crash.

Prosecutors repeatedly objected to Black's line of questions. They objected to the car-crash questions and when Black asked if anyone had suffered a concussion and memory loss.

Black's questions also suggest one defense for Goodman may be that he suffered a concussion in the crash and did not have his wits about him afterward. Black also asked if jurors ever had suffered "temporary amnesia."

Palm Beach Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath cut off that line of questions after prosecution objections. The judge told Black he was improperly trying to "condition" jurors. "That's where I lose my patience," Colbath said.

By the end of the day, a jury was seated — five men and one woman, all middle-age or older. The two alternates are women. The judge has largely shielded their personal information because of heavy media coverage.

Opening statements are set for Tuesday morning, and prosecutors have said they expect their case to take up to five days. The defense plans to put on several days of testimony.

The focal point of the trial will be how much Goodman had to drink and when, with competing experts testifying to his blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash.

A wrongful-death suit filed against Goodman by Wilson's parents, William and Lili Wilson, is scheduled to begin in late March, after the conclusion of the criminal trial.

Several prospective jurors said they were familiar with media coverage of that case, including recent reports concerning Goodman's adoption of his 42-year-old girlfriend, making her a beneficiary of a $300 million trust for his two minor children.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/crime/fl-john-goodman-criminal-trial-day3-20120308,0,6256876.story

It should be an interesting trial. Black is apparently going to try to contend that Goodman may have been drinking after the crash to calm his nerves, to try to raise reasonable doubt about whether he was DUI at the time of the accident. As I recall, you had suggested something similar as a defense in Swift's situation. Like Swift, Goodman had been drinking in a bar prior to the crash. I expect this will be the best defense that money can buy in a case like this.
Thank u for calling this case to our attention, Firefly.
It is indeed, strikingly similar that of Tom Swift.
In reading the quoted news story,
I was surprized at how different it is
to select a jury in Florida, as distinct from NY,
in numerous different ways. ( I was shocked
that he was purportedly getting the jury
to agree with him qua what the law is;
that is the judge 's job. )

It will be quite interesting.





David
0 Replies
 
OmSigDAVID
 
  1  
Reply Sat 10 Mar, 2012 12:19 am
@Rockhead,
Rockhead wrote:
the best liars money can buy...

(I don't drink and drive, dave.)
Well, we r not in court;
(otherwise, I 'd have said: "move to strike as unresponsive.
Will the court direct the witness to answer the question ?)
Rockhead
 
  1  
Reply Sat 10 Mar, 2012 12:21 am
@OmSigDAVID,
you can just file away me as a hostile witness, dave.

but polite nonetheless...
0 Replies
 
OmSigDAVID
 
  1  
Reply Sat 10 Mar, 2012 12:22 am
@hawkeye10,
hawkeye10 wrote:
The Goodman case shows well that when old money gets wrapped up in the American "justice" system it is often a winning lottery ticket for someone. Ten seconds of bad luck after irresponsible behavior can rub out generations of reward for for a family assisting the collective in good works. Hopefully at some point soon there will be consensus that we can delay no longer in fixing America, this kind of abusive BS being one motivator. .
I hope that each family of Indivdual citizens in America
will exploit the collective to the MAXIMUM.





David
0 Replies
 
firefly
 
  1  
Reply Sat 10 Mar, 2012 12:25 am
@hawkeye10,
All the kinds of info about Swift's case that you bitched you didn't have access to is available in Goodman's case--they have everything online, including all the documents (I just read the victim's autopsy report--he died of drowning, not of impact injuries). I would imagine that this is the same sort of info they have compiled in Swift's case. If you are interested, you can view everything at the link below and get some idea what they base a DUI manslaughter/leaving the scene charge on in Florida.
http://www.wptv.com/generic/news/Goodman-Page-main

You can also watch the trial coverage at the above link when it begins on Tuesday.
OmSigDAVID
 
  1  
Reply Sat 10 Mar, 2012 12:30 am
@firefly,
firefly wrote:

They are just now reporting that Goodman's civil suit has been settled.
Quote:

Posted: 10:01 PM
Last Updated: 29 minutes ago
By: WPTV Web Team

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Sources tell NewsChannel 5 that a settlement in the wrongful death civil suit against Wellington polo tycoon John Goodman has been reached.

Those sources say the settlement was reached last week, but all parties agreed to keep terms confidential.

According to published reports, the parents of Scott Wilson, who filed the suit, sought up to $100 million dollars in damages.

Sources say the settlement is beyond ten million dollars, but how far beyond they would not confirm.
http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/wellington-polo-mogul-john-goodmans-civil-suit-settled#ixzz1ogTJWfdH

You were right, it was for a bundle.

It won't replace the child the Wilsons lost.
I 'm certain that he had the wisdom to be well insured.
I have always driven carefully, with abundant liability insurance
(or hired a chauffered limosine, or a cab).
The more u buy, the less it costs (per dollar).





David
0 Replies
 
OmSigDAVID
 
  1  
Reply Sat 10 Mar, 2012 12:36 am
@firefly,
The same as in Tom's case,
Goodman was charged with vehicular manslaughter
and failing to aid at the scene. This presents an interesting
challenge to the failing to aid charge. I doubt that the legislature
of Florida has jd to require any citizen to jump down into the water
of a canal and expose himself to the chances of being eaten by alligators.





David
Rockhead
 
  1  
Reply Sat 10 Mar, 2012 12:38 am
@OmSigDAVID,
alligators dave?

where did they come from...?
OmSigDAVID
 
  1  
Reply Sat 10 Mar, 2012 12:54 am
@Rockhead,
Rockhead wrote:
alligators dave?
Yea.

Rockhead wrote:
where did they come from...?
I think it was from Pangea, descended from the Archosaurs.





David
 

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