Posted on 05/03/2004 8:13:22 PM PDT by Diddle E. Squat
Lawyer says she ran him down as he cycled; she calls it an accident
This is the story of a lawyer on her way to a bike ride who hit a lawyer riding his bike.
Tommy Thomas, a Dallas business lawyer, came away with scrapes and bruises but is perplexed about what would drive a prominent law professor at Southern Methodist University to run him down in what police say was a road rage incident.
Police arrested Jane Dolkart on Sunday and charged her with aggravated assault. According to police reports, Mr. Thomas was cycling with a friend about 10 a.m. on West Lawther Road when a woman in a Volkswagen Passat came up behind them and started honking and screaming.
Police say Ms. Dolkart, an expert in labor law related to sexuality and gender, followed the cyclists around a U-turn and then rammed her car into Mr. Thomas' bike. Ms. Dolkart, 56, referred questions to her attorney, who characterized the incident as an accident.
Ed Ishmael, a friend and local real estate title attorney, said he was surprised by the allegations.
"It doesn't sound anything like the Jane Dolkart I know," he said. "She's not a hothead."
But Mr. Thomas said he was dragged underneath the car and suffered road rash and bruising on his arms and shoulders.
"It is the most unbelievable, amazing thing that happened to me," said Mr. Thomas, 28. "I still can't believe it happened to me."
Ms. Dolkart's attorney, James Vasilas, said his client was on her way to go biking at White Rock Lake when she came across two cyclists moving slowly in the middle of the road just south of Mockingbird Lane.
"She tapped on her horn one time – she was not honking and screaming – just to let them know, 'Hey, if you move over a little, I could get by.' "
He said that when Ms. Dolkart made a U-turn to go into the parking lot, Mr. Thomas slammed on his brakes and was hit.
"This was obviously blown way out of proportion," Mr. Vasilas said. "This is not a criminal offense."
Ms. Dolkart was taken to the Dallas County jail and posted a bond for the $2,500 bail on Sunday night. The Dallas Police Department is investigating and will refer the case to a grand jury to determine whether she will be indicted on assault charges.
Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon is a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
The witness "could hear her screaming through the closed window at him. ... That's how loud she was screaming," said Detective L.C. Hall of the assault unit. "If it was stress or if she was late, I have no idea why this incident occurred."
Mr. Thomas said he and a friend had been waiting for another friend for their usual ride to Lake Ray Hubbard and back.
"It sucked the tire underneath the car, and the next thing you know, I'm underneath the car," he said. "The bike is absolutely shredded."
Ms. Dolkart has been an associate law professor at SMU for 14 years. Before that she was an assistant general counsel at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and taught at Catholic University Law School in Washington, D.C.
Specializing in civil rights and labor law related to sexuality and gender, she has worked extensively on benefits for same-sex partners, sexual harassment in the workplace and gender discrimination.
SMU officials released a written statement Monday saying the university takes all allegations of misconduct involving a member of the school's community seriously, but they did not comment further because the matter is under investigation.
Mr. Thomas said her position is all the more reason she should be held accountable.
"You'd think that people who are training our future attorneys would have better judgment," he said.
Mr. Vasilas said he is confident his client would be cleared.
"This case isn't going anywhere," he said. "This is not going to stick."
Last week, during rush hour, a line of cars(including mine) was delayed quite a bit as we slowly followed a cyclist holding up traffic riding in the middle of the only westbound lane. What was extremely annoying was the fact that he chose to use the busy road instead of the clearly marked parallel BIKE LANE!
A federal forced-discrimination lawyer! Fry her!!!!
I wouldn't believe either one of them.
Just then a priest and a rabbi walk by...
Reminds me of the old joke. If there is one lawyer in town, they starve. If there are two, they're both rich. Although, I don't think this is way it was meant to work.
Considering they are both attorneys, I think the sentence should be more severe
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