A Year Without Randy (Scott, victim of Bill Janklow)

August 16th, 2003 started out like any other day. But it didn't end that way. It's a day that changed South Dakota politics and ended the life of Randy Scott. This weekend will be the first anniversary. In the 365 days that have passed, the public watched one of the state's most historic trials and longtime South Dakota politician Bill Janklow spent time in jail. During it all, there's been the private trial and tragedy for the Scott family.

Brandee Scott says, "It seems like yesterday. The heart ache it still there, but it will be there for a long time."

That heartache started on August 16, 2003, at a Moody County intersection when former Governor Bill Janklow ran a stop sign, collided with Scott's motorcycle and killed the 55-year-old minnesota man.

But Randy's 22-year-old daughter Brandee and his mother Marcella do go through it, the pain, the grieving and the loss, beginning that August afternoon and every day since. Brandee Scott says, "I don't really remember it, it's a blur, the whole day, it's a blur."

As the blur became more clear, it included manslaughter charges against Janklow, a trial and plenty of publicity.

Brandee Scott says, "People care about their ex-governor, politician of their state. They want to know what's going on with his life."

Other than the day they lost Randy, living through the week of the trial ranks as the second hardest time this year.

Brandee Scott says, "I know he would've been there every single day and make the right thing was being done, and make sure justice was being done."

During those seven days, the Scotts sat just feet away from the man accused of killing their father, brother, son and friend.

Brandee Scott says, "Even if it was Bill Janklow or Joe Blow, It was just, you see this, you look over at this family that's going through a lot, at the same time you look and say, why, all these questions, why, how, what for."

Brandee Scott says, "Me personally, I didn't know which way it was going to go."

When the verdict was returned, the jury had found Janklow guilty of manslaughter.

Marcella Scott says, "I thought the judge did the best he could and we have to agree with that."

Today they focus on the future, working on the memorial ride for Randy this weekend. Still with a verdict and a jail sentence, they search for something more.

Marcella Scott says, "I still haven't gotten through that part of saying good bye. Maybe closure will come someday, but it hasn't come yet."

Marcella Scott says, "I looked for him everyday, really. Some times I see people that look like him and I think from a distance that could be Randy, but it isn't."

Marcella Scott says, "You always think as a parent you should go before your children. Now this has happened, it's just hard to believe, that's all."

Brandee came back home recently to be closer to her father's memory and now lives on the family farm.

Brandee Scott says, "This whole house, every step you take, reminds me of him. It's such a part of him, I still feel like he's here and watching over us every day."

The family doesn't plan on talking with Janklow. Instead, they work on getting through each day and remembering Randy.

Marcella Scott says, "I tell you, the Lord up above is the one person who helps me every day, shows me the way to get through."

Brandee Scott says, "Through all the trials and everything, both families are trying to find peace. This past year that has been the big objective to find some closure and peace."

The family couldn't talk about the civil lawsuit which is still pending. Right now they're appealing a federal judge's decision that would have tax payer's foot the bill if Janklow is found responsible for Scott's death.

Well, Jolene Loetscher of keloland.com, it's nice you chose to write a piece remembering a downed biker during Sturgis Bikeweek. How innovative and caring of you.

Where was your pennmanship when Janklow was busy Governing your state? Or representing it in Congress? All the while flying low across the state every time he got behind a wheel? Breaking every safety law he could, intimidating State and Local LEO's from ticketing him (only half the time) throughout his entire statewide political career while everyone giggled that Janklow was a 'nut' behind the wheel.

You and every other reporter who claims a fourth estate license of overseeing our elected officials to expose corruption and misuse of office allowed Janklow to continue his ways until finally, Randy Scott met Rep Janklow.

Even then, on the fateful day Randy Scott was murdered, Janklow immediately claimed he wasn't at the wheel. Where were you then Jolene Loetscher of Keloland.com? State police closed the intersection, taped everything off, took pictures, treated Janklow, scraped Randy off the pavement and everybody was thinking 'chappaquidic redu' for 3 days until finally, finally, Janklow was forced somehow to admit (with the help of a automotive mini-blackbox) that he was at the wheel. To admit he was exceeding the speed limit as he always did, and admit he ran a rural stop sign hitting and killing a biker. He came up with a few lame excuses referring to his diabetic condition & his diet, his frame of mind because of diabetic shock, his non-attentive style of driving etc., etc. But bottomline, he was at the wheel, legally.

If the lousy excuse for our current crop of pressitutes had a single erg of conscience to really be the fourth estate, citizen overseer of our elected officials, maybe Janklow would have lost his liscense years earlier.

Maybe all the roadkill that Janklow has created over the years would have had a slightly extended lifespan. But one thing is certain. Randy Scott is dead because he got in the way of a 4 time elected Gov & at that time incumbant State Rep who had a license to drive any dam way he pleased, and the only check and balance available to slow him down was busy reporting the gross receipts from Sturgis bikeweek.

RIP Randy Scott, I hope your family winds up owning the entire state of S.D., including Sturgis' monetary receipts for the next ten years.

Because as we all know, Rep Janklow served his 100 days and is now a free man looking forward to a civil trial backed monetarily by the taxpayers of S.D. All Janklow has to do is show up. He doesn't even need to bother bringing his checkbook.

Final paperwork filed in Janklow manslaughter appeal

JOE KAFKA

Associated Press

PIERRE, S.D. - Lawyers for Bill Janklow filed the final paperwork Tuesday with the state Supreme Court in a quest for reversal of his second-degree manslaughter conviction or a new trial.

Five circuit judges appointed by the high court will now consider the written arguments of defense attorneys and the state. The judges also may review hundreds of pages of trial testimony before reaching their decision, which could come within a few weeks or take several months.

All five Supreme Court justices have disqualified themselves from the case because Janklow appointed four of them while governor and appointed the fifth justice to an earlier circuit judgeship.

Janklow was found guilty on Dec. 8 for last summer's death of Randy Scott of Hardwick, Minn. Scott, 55, died instantly when his motorcycle slammed into the side of a car Janklow drove through a stop sign 10 miles south of Flandreau.

Jurors convicted Janklow, 64, of second-degree manslaughter, reckless driving, speeding and failing to stop.

Edwin Evans and Melissa Hinton, Janklow's defense attorneys, argue in their final legal brief that the former attorney general, governor and congressman did not get a fair trial.

The prosecution was erroneously allowed to argue that the fallen politician routinely drove fast and ignored other rules of the road, the defense attorneys said.

Jurors may have been led to believe Janklow should be convicted because he had frequently broken traffic laws and consciously did so on the date of the fatal crash, his lawyers argued.

Testimony should not have been allowed from a woman who said Janklow barely missed her family after running a stop sign at the same intersection several months earlier and a former state trooper who said he had stopped Janklow for going 84 mph in a 40-mph construction zone, Evans and Hinton argued.

"The state used the evidence during the trial for an improper purpose and urged the jury to convict Janklow on the basis of his driving history," they said.

It also was improper for the prosecution to ask Janklow about his past driving habits, the defense attorneys argued. They said Janklow, who agreed to testify at his trial, did not open himself to such a line of questioning when he denied previously running stop signs and exceeding speed limits.

There was no basis to impeach his statements because he testified that he always obeyed stop signs unless he was responding to emergencies or running late for official appointments, the defense lawyers said.

Circuit Judge Rodney Steele should have acquitted Janklow because the evidence did not prove that he was aware of the risk when he drove at 64 mph through the stop sign, Hinton and Evans added. They said Janklow was in a diabetic fog at the time of the crash. Although physically capable of driving, he was not aware of the danger at the intersection of two rural highways, they said.

"The accident occurred because Janklow did not see and therefore did not stop at the stop sign," they wrote.

A conviction for second-degree manslaughter cannot be sustained unless a person knowingly disregards a substantial risk, the defense attorneys said. Considerable evidence was introduced at the trial to show that Janklow had not eaten for 18 hours before the crash and low blood sugar could have caused a severe diabetic episode, they said.

The state filed earlier arguments that said Janklow got a fair trial. The evidence proved he was driving recklessly and knew the risks when he sped through the intersection, the state said.

Janklow has said he remembers nothing about the crash or the time shortly before or afterward.

Janklow spent 100 days in jail this spring and was fined $5,750. He was released on probation and cannot drive for three years. He resigned from Congress shortly after being convicted.

U.S attorney urges ruling in Janklow case be upheld
Dennis Gale, Associated Press
August 9, 2004 JANKLOW0810

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - A federal magistrate was correct in ruling that former U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow was on official business a year ago when he caused a crash that killed a man, the U.S. attorney in Minnesota said.

Last month, U.S. Magistrate Arthur Boylan of St. Paul, Minn., ruled that Janklow, 64, was on official business last Aug. 16 when he sped through a stop sign near Trent. A motorcycle driven by Randy Scott, 55, of Hardwick, Minn., hit the Cadillac Janklow was driving.

Scott died instantly.

Janklow was convicted of second-degree manslaughter, speeding, running a stop sign and reckless driving in a Moody County criminal case. He resigned from Congress in January.

Scott's mother, sister, son and daughter then sued Janklow in Minnesota state court. But the civil case was moved to federal court. Janklow asked to be covered under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which protects federal employees from negligence claims when they're on duty.

The family's lawyer, Ronald Meshbesher, had objected to Boylan's ruling. He is trying to get the case back in state court so the family can win punitive damages.

If the ruling stands, taxpayers, not Janklow, would pay any civil damages in the wrongful death lawsuit.

U.S. Attorney Thomas Heffelfinger filed his answer on Friday.

``The magistrate judge correctly concluded that the accident occurred while Janklow was driving on official business, from an official function, to his district office,'' Heffelfinger wrote. ``Those facts alone establish that Janklow was acting within the scope of his employment. His prior driving behavior is just not relevant to this issue.''

Heffelfinger said Meshbesher never even questioned Janklow about his driving behavior during interviews for the court case.

``Plaintiffs, instead, rely solely on the conclusory affidavit of their attorney, Ronald Meshbesher, and on newspaper articles filled with unsubstantiated hearsay, neither of which satisfy the basic requirements for admissibility under the Federal Rules of Evidence,'' Heffelfinger's document said.

He called the articles ``classic examples of unauthenticated hearsay.''

The focus of the court on whether an act was committed in the scope of employment is on the conduct itself, not its consequences, Heffelfinger said. ``The conduct in question is driving, not reckless driving or driving which resulted in an accidental death,'' he said in the court papers.

Meshbesher has said if his objection to U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery doesn't work, he will go to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Janklow, who was elected to Congress in 2002 after serving 16 years as governor, spent 100 days in jail for the criminal convictions.

Family's lawyer objects to ruling in Janklow case

DIRK LAMMERS

Associated Press

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - A lawyer representing the family of a motorcyclist killed in a fatal accident caused by former U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow has objected to a ruling that keeps the case in federal court.

Minneapolis lawyer Ronald Meshbesher filed an objection Friday to last week's ruling by U.S. Magistrate Arthur Boylan of St. Paul, Minn.

Boylan's ruling determined that Janklow, 64, was on official business Aug. 16 when he sped through a stop sign near Trent and collided with Randy Scott, 55, of Hardwick, Minn.

Janklow had asked to be covered under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which protects federal employees from negligence claims when they're on duty.

Meshbesher, who wants the case moved back to a Minnesota state court, said a judge applying the act has to put the United States in the position of a private employer. Janklow's driving habits were seriously criminal, he said.

"No employer could have foreseen this kind of conduct from an employee, let alone the United States Government seen this kind of conduct from a member of the House of Representatives," Meshbesher said Friday afternoon in an interview.

If the case is moved back to state court in Minnesota, the Scott family could get punitive damages, which are not allowed in federal court.

Although Meshbesher's filing is technically an objection, it's similar to an appeal in that it moves the case up the legal chain to U.S. District Court Judge Ann Montgomery.

Meshbesher said Janklow's lawyers have 10 days to respond, and Montgomery can either decide on the objection based on court filings or give the parties a chance to argue the matter in person.

Janklow, elected to Congress in 2002 after serving a total of 16 years as governor, spent 100 days in jail after his manslaughter conviction in the highway death. He resigned from Congress in January.

As I read your post, I thought it was perfectly stated. I decided there was nothing I could add to your words that would make the point any better, the issue any clearer. I had contented myself that justice had been served (though anemically), and the last page could be turned & the book closed.

Then I Googled up Janklow's name and began to read some of the latest articles that surfaced . . .

I'm sitting here, stunned (stuned?). This reticent, unrepentant, power-drunk monster quietly manipulates the bureaucracy to foist responsibility for his actions onto you and me as federal taxpayers, while wielding his power as an attorney to attempt to get his manslaughter conviction vacated. Absolutely astounding!

I sit here feeling like a fool, a rube and a doofus. Why did I for one moment think justice would actually be served? How could I consider even for a moment that this painful issue had finally come to an end? What sliver of information had convinced me that Janklow would simply accept his responsibility for his actions?

If this were you or me walking in Janklow's shoes, our lives would be reduced to rubble. We'd be living in a cardboard box, working to pay for our criminal actions, for the rest of our miserable lives. But no, not this assclown. He is going to do everything in his considerable power to ensure he hangs on to his speedboat. Consequences? Those are for peons. Justice? Defined in America by position, connections and circumstance.

My heart goes out to the Scott family. Their nightmare continues unabated.

I skimed through the articles you posted mostly seeing red the whole time, but thank you for posting them and bring us up to date.
What does Janklow look to accomplish by fighting his conviction? Has he been denied his retirement pay or has something monetary been denied him because of it? Is he so pure he can't live with a soiled name?

He's already done his 100 days and the civil trial is indispute (according to one of the posted articles)

**If the case is moved back to state court in Minnesota, the Scott family could get punitive damages, which are not allowed in federal court.**

Does Janklow fear he will actually have to pay up out of his own pocket? Oh man, do I ever hope so!!!

Am I following/reading this right? It all seems so upside down for Janklow to again attack the charges and open the door to civil penalties.

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