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Posted on 01/22/2007 2:30:29 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo
Former Rep. Bill Janklow will emerge from his manslaughter probation today with a clean record, more than three years after he sped through a stop sign in a Cadillac and killed a Minnesota motorcyclist. Janklow already regained his law license and can get behind the wheel again, having obeyed all conditions of his release, his probation officer said.
But the 67-year-old's political career is through.
"I think that it's good for everyone involved that this chapter has come to a conclusion," said Ed Evans, the attorney who represented him at trial.
On Aug. 16, 2003, Janklow's car struck a Harley-Davidson ridden by Randy Scott, 55, of Hardwick, Minn., at an intersection near Trent, S.D., about 30 miles north of Sioux Falls.
Scott was killed instantly. Janklow suffered minor injuries.
Janklow, who has diabetes, testified he had not eaten the day of the accident and likely blacked out when he approached the intersection.
Janklow told The Associated Press he did not want to comment about the end of his probation.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Kill somebody? Off your record in 3 years.
Skip a month on your Visa? On your record for 10 years.
lawyers protecting lawyers.
Step Down, Bill Janklow
By Michelle Malkin
It’s all a big joke to Rep. Bill Janklow, the Republican congressman from South Dakota with a lead foot, a hollow heart, and an ego the size of his Cadillac death-mobile.
Conservatives with a conscience should be appalled that the powerful GOP representative, charged over the weekend with felony manslaughter in a fatal accident that killed a motorcyclist last month, refuses to step down immediately from office.
For years, this man who belongs to the party of personal responsibility—the party of law and order—has made light of his law-skirting ways. A notorious speeder, he jested in his State of the State address while governor of South Dakota in 1996: "For the first time since I can remember, I went a whole year without a speeding ticket, and so then the federal government goes ahead and abolishes speed limits." In his 1999 State of the State address, the governor (and former state attorney general) poked fun at his scofflaw reputation again: 'Bill Janklow speeds when he drives. Shouldn't, but he does.'"
Hardy-har-har. According to the Associated Press:
“His driving record shows numerous citations from the early 1990s, when he was ticketed 12 times for speeding and paid more than $1,000 in fines. In several cases, he was stopped for driving 15 to 20 miles per hour faster than the posted speed limits and once was caught going 90 mph in a 65-mph zone.”
He has reportedly been involved in at least eight accidents over the past 10 years.
Last December, according to Jennifer Walters of Trent, S.D., Janklow ran a stop sign and nearly collided with her family’s pickup truck at a rural intersection. "A split-second difference and the Cadillac would have hit us," Walters (who was riding with her husband and two children) told the Minneapolis Star Tribune last week. "That's how fast the car came through." [registration required]
Eight months later, Janklow ran the same stop sign at the very same intersection—and Randolph Scott was not so lucky.
Scott was riding his Harley-Davidson safely at a legal speed on Aug. 16. The 55-year-old Vietnam veteran, volunteer firefighter, farmer, and father of two didn’t have a chance as Janklow came barreling through the intersection at a reported 70 miles an hour. Scott was killed instantly. Friends remembered him as a big, outgoing guy who knew everyone in his small town of Hardwick, Minnesota. He headed the local American Legion post. “He was always there for you,” a former schoolmate recalled. He “liked hamburger steaks,” another friend said.
The imperial Janklow has expressed remorse for the death of citizen Randolph Scott. Remorse, but not shame. Janklow’s son told the New York Times on Sunday that his father “plans to go back to Washington and resume his Congressional duties…He has no intention of resigning."
Janklow, considered a potential candidate against Democrat minority leader Sen. Tom Daschle, is clinging pathetically to his political ambitions. Meanwhile, Republican strategists are worried about losing South Dakota’s only congressional seat to a Democrat.
Politics be damned. Janklow is a repugnant lawbreaker addicted to speed and power. His callous disregard for the rules cost an innocent man his life. The Republican Party should turn its back on Janklow and bear the electoral consequences.
Last year’s Trent Lott episode showed that the GOP can hold its leaders to higher standards. Party officials once again have an opportunity to show that personal accountability is more than a catch phrase.
The Democrats have their Chappaquiddick. Republicans don’t need one, too.
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Randolph Scott? Oh, no, my childhood hero!
What a filthy, rotten, degenerate POS. If any of us "little people" had done this we'd be rotting in jail and sued out of every possession we own.
The withdrawl symptoms are killing me.
This guy had a history of speeding and thought no one else owned a small sliver of the road they drive upon. I bet this Janklow character was the king of aggressive drivers and would cut people off because they only did 5 mph over the speed limit. If he got caught by state troopers/police for aggressive driving/speeding, he probabably whipped out his member of congress credentials and used the "don't you konw who I am" (wasn't a interrogative statement... but a declarative statement I'm sure) defense.
Went for a nice little putt last Saturday out here -- am even hearing some spring birds already!
Spring'll be here before you know it.
Period.
Here in South Carolina, we have a Lt. Gov. who has the same speed demon attitude as Janklow. Andre Bauer.
Last summer he was being pursued for exceeding 100mph. He called in to the Highway patrol HQ and told them to tell the trooper that he was pursuing "SC-2". He didn't get a ticket.
I ride a motorcycle...and I'm nervous.
Absolutely disgraceful.
"“His driving record shows numerous citations from the early 1990s, when he was ticketed 12 times for speeding and paid more than $1,000 in fines. In several cases, he was stopped for driving 15 to 20 miles per hour faster than the posted speed limits and once was caught going 90 mph in a 65-mph zone.”
He has reportedly been involved in at least eight accidents over the past 10 years.
Last December, according to Jennifer Walters of Trent, S.D., Janklow ran a stop sign and nearly collided with her family’s pickup truck at a rural intersection. "A split-second difference and the Cadillac would have hit us," Walters (who was riding with her husband and two children) told the Minneapolis Star Tribune last week. "That's how fast the car came through." [registration required]
Eight months later, Janklow ran the same stop sign at the very same intersection—and Randolph Scott was not so lucky. "
The man doesn't deserve to ever hold a drivers license again.
THat's the problem there. His reckless driving, not the rest of it. He should have had his license pulled a long time ago with the crashes. That should be proof his driving attitude and ability was reckless.
It's a shame he got his record cleared of this felony also.
Was riding until Christmas. Cold, but no ice.
While his legal record may be clean, his dirty deed is common knowlege. His record is stained forever.
Got me a jury summons for next week, and will flatly refuse to serve. Got no faith in the world's best judicial system.
Can you legally do that??
No, of course not, but you have to weasel your way out. (Although at one time, I made so much stink they did reject me. Nowadays, methods are a little more subtle.)
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