His Jury Sees Rep. Janklow Placing Blame

NYTimes ^ | December 3, 2003 | MONICA DAVEY

[RJCogburn]

A few hours after his car accident killed a motorcyclist at a rural intersection, Representative Bill Janklow, one of the most powerful men in South Dakota, found himself in a state trooper's squad car, anxiously returning, again and again, to the seconds just before the wreck.

A little white car had come out of nowhere, he told the trooper repeatedly. The car, headed in his direction on a two-lane road, had swerved toward his Cadillac, he said, forcing him to avoid it by speeding up and running a stop sign at the intersection. "Honestly, I tried to gun it to get away from him," Mr. Janklow said, in a videotape played for jurors on Tuesday at his manslaughter trial here.

But there had been no white car swerving at him, his defense team acknowledged in opening arguments on Monday. Instead, his lawyers say, Mr. Janklow, a diabetic, was suffering from low blood sugar, a condition that can lead some people to become disoriented, when he ran the stop sign and collided with the 55-year-old motorcyclist, Randy Scott. And that, they say, could explain his impressions of a swerving white car and his reason for failing to stop.

Prosecutors, on the other hand, who played the video for the jury, say Mr. Janklow, who has a history of speeding, simply went through the stop sign at 71 miles per hour, in a 55 m.p.h. zone, and was then left searching for an excuse.

The night of the crash, in August, Mr. Janklow spent nearly an hour inside Trooper Jeff Lanning's squad car as they drove to a medical center, where Mr. Janklow's blood was to be tested for alcohol. (The test came back negative.) The congressman, who was quiet at times and agitated at others, repeatedly brought the conversation back to the white car. He pointed out the precise spot on the road from which, he said, the car had come."I wasn't going fast," he said.

At one point, Mr. Janklow asked the trooper whether he knew the name of the motorcyclist who had been killed; the trooper did. Then he wanted to know whether Mr. Scott had a family; the trooper said he did not know.

Mr. Scott's family was seated in the courtroom on Tuesday.

[Loyal Buckeye]

Excuses brought to you by the congressman who paid 1,000 in traffic fines over the last couple of years. I don't buy his story.

[steve50]

From what I've heard the trial is in one of his strongholds. Pretty clear he's going to walk. What a disgrace.

[Tijeras_Slim]

janklow scum ping

[South Dakota]

We called him,,Wild Bill, for a good reason

[auboy]

Janklow's never met an excuse he didn't like. The devil made him do it, yeah, that's it.

I say hit him with a 71 mph stop sign. If that doesn't kill him, at least it might get his attention.

Actions have consequences. Time for Janklow to pay his bill.

[CalvaryJohn]

At least we Republicans know when it's time to turn our backs. This kind of behavior, instead of contrition and a guilty plea, is totally unacceptable. Shame on Janklow.

[Reo]

Janklow's been a loose cannon for years. Put him orange and put him away.

[martin_fierro]

	FReeper Motorcycle Hooligan
Send FReepmail if you want on/off FMH list

[bmwcyle]

Hang him after this fair trial.

[blackie]

Ah yes, the old mystery white car trick ~ right out od a Steven King novel. :):)

[JoeSixPack1]

I am starting to see a glimmer of hope - for a rope!

[an amused spectator]

I'm gobsmacked. A New York Times article, and the word "Republican" is nowhere in sight. What the heck is going on here???

[Hot Tabasco]

the word "Republican" is nowhere in sight

You know what? I thought this guy was a Dem based on the couple of articles I read which left out his political affiliation. Hmmmm, could it be the media is turning?

Nah.......

[archy]

I'm gobsmacked. A New York Times article, and the word "Republican" is nowhere in sight. What the heck is going on here???

They're waiting for a conviction. If one comes in, they can say *Republican felon.*

If not, they can say *Republican coverup.*

For them, it's a win-win proposition.

-archy-/-

[MaxPlus305]

Don't forget your aluminum-foil hat before going out today.