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| Williams Files Appeal, Challenges Drug Law |
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Posted by FoM on June 13, 2001 at 12:23:28 PT By Peter O'Connell, Review-Journal Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal 
In an appeal filed Tuesday, attorneys for Jessica Williams took aim at the state law that prohibits drivers from having certain illegal drugs in their system. Jurors relied upon the law when they convicted Williams in the March 2000 accident on Interstate 15 that killed six teens assigned to a county work crew. In documents filed Tuesday with the Nevada Supreme Court, attorneys John Watkins and Ellen Bezian contend the law is unconstitutional. The attorneys said that, although legislators intended to advance traffic safety when they passed the legislation in 1999, the law targets people with low levels of marijuana who do not present a threat to traffic safety. "Clearly, the public has absolutely no legitimate interest in prosecuting unimpaired drivers for DUI," the attorneys wrote. District Judge Mark Gibbons ruled the law constitutional after hearing testimony in an evidentiary hearing last year. The Nevada Supreme Court has yet to rule on the law's constitutionality. Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker said he had not seen the documents the defense filed Tuesday. But the prosecutor said Gibbons carefully considered the more than 60 motions filed in the Williams case. "Everything has been litigated. We are confident that the judge made the right decisions, and she had more than a fair trial," Booker said. Six teen-agers assigned to a Clark County youth offenders work crew were killed when a Ford minivan driven by Williams drifted into the median of I-15 near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Those killed were Anthony Smith, 14; Scott Garner Jr., 14; Alberto Puig, 16; Maleyna Stoltzfus, 15; Rebeccah Glicken, 15; and Jennifer Booth, 16. In her appeal, Williams contends that Gibbons erred when he prohibited the defense from arguing that Clark County's negligence contributed to the six deaths. Defense attorneys also said their case was improperly damaged by the failure of Associated Pathologists Laboratories to refrigerate Williams' blood samples after testing them shortly after the accident. The laboratory found the blood contained marijuana levels in excess of the limits permitted under the law. A defense expert retested the blood earlier this year and detected far lower levels of marijuana. However, the defense expert did find illegal amounts of a marijuana component that does not contribute to the smoker's feeling of intoxication. On cross-examination, prosecutors impeached the expert's findings by noting that marijuana levels tend to decrease over time when a blood sample is not refrigerated. In its appeal, the defense said the state should not have been permitted to benefit from the failure to preserve evidence. Williams is serving a sentence of 18 to 48 years in prison for her conviction on six counts of driving with a prohibited substance in the blood. Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV) Related Articles: Judge: Blood Test Cannot Be Used in Crash Case Blaming Jessica: Drug Use, DUI or Reckless Driving Law on Solid Ground, Court Rulings Suggest Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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Comment #5 posted by jeff snyder on June 13, 2001 at 16:35:02 PT:
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| I thought about something good to write but then i thought how does one penetrate a nightmare with kind thoughts? I think that some people have lost their minds over this war on drugs. For people like us I have kind thoughts. The nightmare you live, may God forgive us. If you voters had nothing to do with this then who did? Nobody wants to represent? I am sorry for you Jessica. love, jeff [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #4 posted by jeff snyder on June 13, 2001 at 16:16:46 PT:
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| I have saved my own life by being then only one not driving but still awake. I have hollered at people asleep that were not on dope but for some reason did not give a shit about their own safety let alone mine. They were not bad people but made a mistake when they thought they should go on. I ask, was she fucked up on dope or not? [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #3 posted by Steven Tuck on June 13, 2001 at 14:02:55 PT:
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| I have asked my MD before about my right and ability to drive despite taking my prescribed medications, and he said that chronic pain patients are so habituated to our medicine that we cause no danger to other drivers and that it's legal for me to drive. I am taking 2(30 mg. timed release morphine pills per day plus liquid morphine for breakthrough, I also have a script from same MD for my use of cannabis which explicitly states I can use it prn, have it on me at all times, and must have it in order to stay alive. I do not smoke when I drive or for a few hours beforehabd but that's out of respect for human life, I just get my wife to drive if I must smoke. These meds have never effected my ability to drive and I have been on them for over 12 years daily without ONE accident. More MD's need to speak out before the so-called "drug warriors" try to use this against law-abiding people who present no danger. There are millions of people driving on Benzo's everyday also and if they are habituated it's usually not a problem but the little labels that say use caution until you are sure of effects are a joke. Also cut-off levels are not just as all people do not react the same to drugs or habituate at the same rate, so a one size fits all government approach is not going to work. Anybody have any suggestions as the card I got from the Humboldt County Dept. of Health say's not to use cannabis driving but states no time limits or cut-off levels. i have also had a couple of patients who had to give-up their CDL and their jobs when they got a recommendation for cannabis, which was wrong. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #2 posted by Pontifex on June 13, 2001 at 13:31:05 PT:
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| After mowing down six people, you'd think the driver would be charged with vehicular manslaughter. You'd be wrong: Williams is serving a sentence of 18 to 48 years in So having a prohibited substance in your blood is a It doesn't get much crazier! [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on June 13, 2001 at 12:30:35 PT:
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| The evidence is that she fell asleep at the wheel. [ Post Comment ] |
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