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Tag: retrial

  • John Goodman Slapped With 16-Year Sentence (Again)

    John Goodman Slapped With 16-Year Sentence (Again)

    It was deja vu for polo mogul John Goodman.

    Goodman was re-convicted last month of DUI manslaughter in relation to the death of Scott Wilson.

    Wilson died after drowning when Goodman ran a stop sign and knocked his car into a nearby canal.

    Goodman’s vehicle was not available for the retrial, one of a number of quirks and inconveniences that seemed to plague to prosecution.

    In the end, the outcome of the retrial of the 51-year-old mogul echoed that of the previous trial.

    The prosecution has insisted that on top of his conviction, Goodman should be forced to pay restitution to the state for the cost of a second trial.

    The estimated amount to be owed would be around $100,000.

    Assistant state attorney Sherri Collins had requested that the 16-year sentence handed down during the first trial be given to Goodman again.

    Said Collins, “The state is asking that the sentence be no less today because, frankly, the crime is just as horrible today as it was then.”

    Judge Jeffrey Colbath agreed, and John Goodman found himself facing a 16-year sentence for the second time.

    Colbath said of the trial and retrial that they were “horrible cases”.

    “Citizens make one mistake and horrible consequences result.”

    The closest thing to a silver lining for Goodman is that given credit for 154 days served.

    There was a sense of deja-vu for the family of victim Scott Wilson as well.

    “We are back to where we were,” said William Wilson, Scott’s father. “Two years have gone by and we are in the same place.”

    Despite the turn of events for this second trial, there remains some skepticism that Goodman will serve his sentence.

    Goodman’s defense lawyer Liz Parker said that her client intends to file another appeal.

    “He wants to defend himself and clear his name,” said Parker.

    William Wilson seems to agree with the sentiment that this outcome may not be final.

    “It is definitely not permanent. Until he goes to jail permanently… then it is permanent.”

  • John Goodman Trial On Shaky Ground. New Jury Needed?

    The retrial of polo mogul John Goodman is demonstrating that in the 21st century, there’s no such thing as an entirely ignorant jury.

    Aside from being able to quickly find out about 51-year-old Goodman via Google, one can just as easily learn crucial details about the previous trial.

    This is what happened with Travis Van Vliet. The 23-year-old thought nothing of looking up the case during lunch and learning the details of the retrial.

    While this alone would probably make him an undesirable juror, Vliet then did something unthinkable: He began to share what he found out with another potential juror!

    The overriding point of jury selection for the Goodman trial was to select unbiased individuals who didn’t know about the previous trial OR his conviction.

    Judge Jeffrey Colbath found the young man to be in contempt of court and had him escorted from the courtroom in handcuffs.

    It’s not a good sign for prosecutors.

    It was juror misconduct which led to a retrial for the multimillionaire.

    It’s also why this case will see the selected jurors sequestered in West Palm Beach, Fla. for four weeks.

    Still, Vliet’s actions raise serious questions about how uninformed a jury can be about John Goodman and the previous trial.

    Despite lingering concerns, 10 individuals were selected (six jurors and four alternates) for the trial.

    If it somehow emerges that some of the jurors were indeed aware of the previous trial and Goodman’s conviction, it may yet again cause problems for Florida prosecutors.

    John Goodman is originally from Texas and the heir to an air conditioning business empire. He used his money to rebuild the Wellington, Fla. polo community, a fact for which he’s gained worldwide recognition.

    In 2010, Goodman was driving while intoxicated when he struck the car of 23-year-old engineering graduate Scott Wilson. Wilson’s car flipped upside down into a canal, which caused him to drown.

    Prosecutors claimed that Goodman fled the scene of the accident and didn’t call 911 until nearly an hour later.

    He was originally convicted on the DUI manslaughter charge in 2012, but his lawyers found errors that resulted in his old conviction and 16 year sentence being thrown out.

    The John Goodman retrial will be streamed live on Saturday by WPTV.

  • Amanda Knox: Innocence Doubted by Raffaele Sollecito

    Amanda Knox: Innocence Doubted by Raffaele Sollecito

    Fingers continue to be pointed in all directions and details continue to emerge in the aftermath of the ruling for the Amanda Knox retrial. Knox’s former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, was recently quoted as doubting his ex-girlfriend’s innocence in the Meredith Kercher murder case. Sollecito shared, “I don’t want to be punished for, nor have to continue to justify, those things that regard you and not me.”

    During an interview an the Today show, Sollecito admitted to asking Knox questions regarding her behavior during the initial onslaught of the investigation. “Certainly I asked her questions. Why did you take a shower? Why did she spent so much time there?”

    It appears to many that Knox’s former boyfriend is making a concerted effort to separate himself from her. According to legal analyst Lisa Bloom, “I think he’s distancing himself from her. He’s saying that there is some evidence that may apply to her, which doesn’t apply to him.”

    During an appearance on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, Sollecito expressed his shock at being targeted a suspect where he believes his connection with Knox is what prompted the target. “Why do they convict me? Why do [they] put me on the corner and say that I’m guilty just because in their minds I have to be guilty because I was her boyfriend. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

    There was a time when Sollecito defended both his and Knox’s innocence. “I don’t know what to think, because objectively, there’s nothing against me and nothing very strong against Amanda,” he said.

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • Nicollette Sheridan Suing Desperate Housewives Team

    The saucy “Desperate Housewives” neighbor, Edie Britt, played by Nicollette Sheridan, was terminated in the 5th season of the show.

    Sheridan is suing ABC, Touchstone and its creator, Marc Cherry, for $20 million dollars for wrongful termination. The case originally went to court in April 2010 but the jury was deadlocked, 8-4 in favor of Sheridan, but she needed nine yes votes to win.

    Sheridan is claiming she was unfairly fired for complaining about Cherry hitting her in the head during a September 2008 argument. In March 2012, a judge declared a mistrial when the jury couldn’t reach a verdict.

    A Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Wednesday surprisingly reversed the earlier decision, making way for actress Nicollette Sheridan to face off with ABC in a new trial over her being fired from “Desperate Housewives”.

    Sheridan appealed but a California appellate court sided with ABC’s studio, saying trial judge Elizabeth Allen White should have issued a directed verdict in favor of ABC because Sheridan hadn’t been fired, but that her contract just hadn’t been renewed.

    Sheridan then filed a claim that her contract was not renewed because of her complaints of unsafe working conditions. They dropped her unfairly and that Marc Cherry hit her on the side of the head during a rehearsal, deliberately.

    But Judge Michael Stern ruled that she should have filed an administrative complaint with the California Labor Commission within six months of the incident, and it took place in 2009, leaving her without an option.

    Sheridan’s lawyers argued that she was not required to exhaust administrative remedies before filing suit but the judge rejected the arguments. At a hearing on Wednesday, Stern overturned that ruling, allowing Sheridan to seek a new trial. The judge didn’t explain his ruling.

    Touchstone’s lawyer Adam Levin told the court he plans to appeal. A hearing is scheduled for April 30.

    Image via YouTube

  • Amanda Knox Is Facing Yet Another Verdict

    Amanda Knox has been through the ringer when it comes to enduring trials. However, the prosecutor believes that not all evidence was properly reviewed, and some was mishandled.

    The most recent trial is the fourth one in six years, in which she has waited for an Italian court to decide whether she is guilty or innocent of killing her roommate Meredith Kercher.

    Knox won’t be attending the trial in Italy though, she’s too afraid that she might be “wrongly convicted” and arrested. However, despite the relative safety of her hometown, the tension has intensified, brought on by the prosecutor who seeks to increase Knox’s prison sentence if she is convicted and urge the judge to request her immediate arrest.

    Two judges and eight jurors will decide her fate on Thursday in Florence after final rebuttals by Knox’s legal team and a verdict and a sentence is expected to come sometime in the “late evening” on Thursday.

    While Knox won’t be in Italy for the sentencing, the family of the victim will be present. Kercher’s sister and brother have said they will be in court to hear the decision.

    Knox and her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were convicted in 2009 of the 2007 murder of Kercher, which happened in the cottage the women shared in Perugia. The prosecutor at the time said the murder was the result of a sex game gone awry.

    That verdict was overturned in 2011, freeing Knox after a four-year prison stint. Now, Italy’s Supreme Court has ordered an appeals court to review the case and that court will render its verdict this week.

    Knox’s lawyers Carlo Dalla Vedova and Luciano Ghirga told reporters at the last hearing that “she cannot wait to end this nightmare.” They said she has followed the trial “step by step” and that she was “very worried” about the outcome.

    Sollecito will not be present in the courtroom either, but will wait for the verdict at his family home in Puglia, southern Italy. His father has said his son is not psychologically able to await the decision in court that day. “He will almost certainly stay at home and has no intention of course of running away.”

    If prosecutor Alessandro Crini gets his way, Knox and Sollecito will be sentenced to 26 years in prison for murder and her sentence for a related slander conviction would be increased from one year to four years.

    Image via YouTube

  • Amanda Knox Says “It’s Common Sense Not To Go Back”

    Amanda Knox does not want to return to Italy. Amanda was acquitted on appeal by an Italian court in 2011 for the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher. In a recent interview with Matt Lauer she explained the reason for her hesitation at the prospects of returning.

    “I was already imprisoned as an innocent person in Italy, and I can’t reconcile the choice to go back with that experience. It’s not a possibility, as I was imprisoned as an innocent person and I just can’t relive that. I don’t think I’m going to be put back in prison. I think that we’re going to win. That’s why I’m fighting this fight, that’s why I continue to put forth the defensive argument in court.”

    The following video shows the interview between Amanda Knox and Matt Lauer.

    Amanda Knox maintains her innocence and claims that refusing to return for the retrial is proof of her innocence and not an indication of guilt. “I look at it as an admission of innocence, to be quite honest. Besides the fact that there are so many factors that are not allowing me to go back, financial ones, ones where I’m going to school, ones where I want the court to proceed without distraction. I was imprisoned as an innocent person. It’s common sense not to go back,” Knox said.

    Though unwilling to return to Italy for the retrial, the possibility still traumatizes Amanda.

    “I have to prepare in my mind what that would be like. I thought about what it would be like to live my entire life in prison and to lose everything, to lose what I’ve been able to come back to and rebuild. I think about it all the time. It’s so scary. Everything’s at stake,” she said.

    Many remain unconvinced by Amanda’s innocence. Debates abound whether the U.S. should demand that Amanda Knox return. If the tables were turned and an Italian citizen was accused of murdering a U.S. citizen would expectations demand said individual return for the judicial process within the United States?

    [Image And Videos Via YouTube]