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| Ben Smith with Racehorse Haynes |
By BEN SMITH
During my campaign for district court judge, I have often emphasized the importance of felony trial experience. A district court judge presides over the most serious crimes committed in our county; and as gatekeeper of the evidence, the judge decides which evidence is admitted and which is excluded. These decisions can substantially impact the outcome of a trial; errors can lead to irreparable consequences. An innocent person can go to prison. A guilty person can go free. In a capital murder case, someone’s life is literally on the line. The stakes are never higher in our system of justice.
It occurred to me that the best way to illustrate this point might be to share some of my trial experiences as a prosecutor. Back in 2009, I had the great privilege of trying a case against famed attorney Richard “Racehorse” Haynes. Even in his early eighties, Racehorse was as sharp as a tack, charming, and spry. He was small in stature, but when he spoke, it was with a clear voice filled with experience and authority.
The facts of the case were tragic. A group of friends were drinking at a local restaurant and sports bar. Scott had been drinking and shooting pool for several hours. He was intoxicated when he left the bar. On his way home, Scott lost control of his pick-up truck on the northbound service road of U.S. 75 just south of Eldorado Parkway. He was not wearing his seatbelt. His truck crashed through the guardrail and rolled over. Scott was ejected onto the right lane of the highway. His body lay motionless. A semi-truck driver named Mario and a nurse named Tracy stopped to help. They turned on their hazard lights. Other cars stopped, too, and traffic slowed down. As they approached Scott to check on him, Mario and Tracy noticed another car coming. It wasn’t slowing down or changing lanes. Mario and Tracy scurried over to the shoulder just in the nick of time. The car ran over Scott’s body and veered toward Mario’s tractor trailer, which was parked on the shoulder just beyond the Eldorado overpass.
The car didn’t seem to slow down. It collided head-on with the rear of the tractor trailer. The passenger side of the car was pulverized, while the driver’s side was left relatively intact. The driver, Michael, escaped with relatively minor injuries. The other two passengers were killed instantly. Chris, who was in the front passenger seat, was decapitated just above the eyebrows. David, who was sitting in the back, died from blunt force trauma to multiple areas of his body.
An ironic twist to the story was that Scott had been drinking at the same place as Michael, Chris, and David. In fact, they all knew each other. Scott, described by some as socially awkward, had been trying to befriend them.
At the time of his blood draw several hours later, Michael’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.19. No one could determine whether Scott was alive at the time Michael’s car hit him. As a result, Michael was indicted twice for intoxication manslaughter — for causing the death of his two friends by reason of his intoxication.
As you can imagine, the trial was emotional and dramatic. Complicating matters was the fact that the defendant, victims, and their families all knew each other and were friends. In most criminal cases, the State has to prove that the defendant intended to engage in conduct or cause the result. Intoxication manslaughter cases are different. Intent is irrelevant. Chris and David were killed in a car accident. But unlike other types of accidents, accidents caused by intoxication are criminal offenses.
Intoxication manslaughter cases can be very difficult cases to try. The State must prove that the intoxication caused the victim’s death. In addition to Racehorse, Michael hired two other outstanding attorneys: Mitch Nolte and E.X. Martin. I had my work cut out for me. The defense’s theory was that by the time even a normal, non-intoxicated person saw Scott’s body, it would have been too late to avoid the accident. In other words, even a sober person would have hit Scott, lost control of the car, and then collided with Mario’s tractor trailer. The defense hired an expert to testify that based on speed, distance, and lighting conditions, even a normal, non-intoxicated person would not have been able to avert the accident. If the jury had a reasonable doubt about this fact, they would be obligated to acquit the defendant.
To make matters worse, when I was assigned the case, I learned that we did not know the identity of a key witness: the nurse at Parkland who drew the defendant’s blood. The nurse’s name was not included in the medical records, and the bureaucracy at Parkland proved difficult to navigate. Without the nurse’s testimony, the blood draw and blood results would be inadmissible. Without the blood results, I would not be able to prove that Michael was intoxicated, let alone the fact that his intoxication caused the accident.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of my investigator, Robin, we learned the name of the nurse who drew Michael’s blood. The trial went forward. The defendant sobbed during my closing argument. I tried to focus on the victims and their families. In this case, everyone lost. Two young men lost their lives, and no one meant for it to happen. Punishing Michael was appropriate, both because he deserved punishment for his terrible choices and because there must be a deterrent for others who would contemplate making similar choices about drinking and driving. However, Michael never intended the result. He wasn’t an evil or malicious person. He made a horrible decision that night that led to the deaths of his two friends. And he will live with his horrible choice for the rest of his life.
As the jury deliberated, Racehorse Haynes’ co-counsel, E.X. Martin, started taking pictures. I asked for a photo to be taken of me shaking Racehorse’s hand. As we began to pose, Racehorse leaned toward me and said, “Son, why do you want your picture taken with me?” I replied, “So I can tell all my friends that I tried a case against Racehorse Haynes!” He looked at me, smiled, and said, “That’s right. And you can tell them you kicked my a$#, too!”
The jury came back shortly thereafter with their verdict. Racehorse was right.
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