Posted on 09/04/2022 9:19:23 AM PDT by texas booster
A federal judge in Los Angeles on Friday dismissed the criminal indictment against a dive boat captain charged with manslaughter in the deaths of 34 people when the vessel caught fire and sank off the California coast three years ago.
The 75-foot (23-meter) Conception caught fire while most of those onboard were sleeping, killing 33 passengers and a crew member. It is considered one of California’s worst maritime disasters.
U.S. District Judge George Wu said in a ruling that the indictment, handed down on December 2020 against captain Jerry Nehl Boylan by a federal grand jury, must be thrown out because prosecutors had failed to accuse him of gross negligence.
(Excerpt) Read more at aol.com ...
Aside from technology, what has become better in the US since the 1950’s?
I agree that the reporting is lousy, but it is from Reuters.
But every single article on this judicial decision uses the Reuters article as their source.
Will keep looking.
Interesting.
Problem with your assessment is it’s his defense that caused the delays.
His defense to avoid trial as long as possible.
“lousy reporting. No curiosity as to why the judge made such a ruling. Was the judge just being an idiot or were the statutes written such that the missing charge undermined the others? We don’t know. This simply makes the judge look bad, which may or may not be earned.”
Judge decision was based on prosecutors citing negligence in the Grand Jury not gross negligence.
Judge is allowing prosecutors to address this mistake.
The question is why did it take so long to make this decision.
“I am as opposed to punishment by trial as the next guy, which is why a judge can dismiss with prejudice, to prevent repeated and groundless indictments. On the other hand, I don’t want to see real criminals escape on a technicality.”
There hasn’t been a trial. The defense has been to avoid trial. They’ve suceeded in delaying it even further.
Thank you for the ping, Texas Booster...
It's funny that thrill seekers scuba diving have a much greater risk from that activity than being in a boat burning down to the waterline. It's like a skydivers family suing the parachute maker.
If you go to trial and are acquitted you can not be charged again for the same crime although the state and fed seem to be trying to toss that with the idea that each of them get a bite at you. SCOTUS should squash that idea. I will probably see that happen on the same day they toss CAF and Qualified Immunity.
But in this case no trial has happened. So he can be recharged and re indited.
How ever they still have to be careful with doing this as about the third time the judge may decide that this is persecution not prosecution and put a stop to it.
I have dove on Conception.
First class operation and best dive boat on west coast.
Below decks it was dark at night.
If a fire broke out, it would be hard to get out.
I was also on very high end Spoilsport in Australia.
If fire broke on that ship, it also would be tough to get out.
And if all else fails there is the old fallback of Federal Civil Rights violations.
This is a maritime law case with federal jurisdiction. The feds only get one bite at the apple and the state has no jurisdiction. That being said, until a jury is empaneled, jeopardy does not apply. The judge cannot dismiss the case with prejudice unless the prosecution commits gross misconduct. Screwing up an indictment is not such an error.
The guy is not off the hook.
I understand, I could have been clearer if I had said punishment by process. Kyle Rittenhouse is a prime example of punishment by process. It was a stupid prosecution.
Not if there were modifications made to the boat that increased the risk of danger to the passengers.
My wife dove off Conception 3 times.
She was literally shaking when we heard the news.
A completely reasonable defense strategy.
The captain is 68 years old.
A conviction or plea deal almost certainly means he will die in prison.
And if he does get out, his Social Security pension will be his only asset and income.
One thing I still do not understand - was this a wooden or fiber glass boat?
How does a metal boat burn down to the water line unless there was a natural gas or fuel explosion first?
It was a wooden and fiber glass boat. The scuttle butt is that a phone being charged caught fire and the boat went up in flames in seconds. It was dark so even if they had had warning very few would have been able to get out of the boat. I had a family member that was diving on that boat a week before the fire happened. It is a very sad tragedy for everyone involved.
“One thing I still do not understand - was this a wooden or fiber glass boat?”
Wood covered with fiberglass.
Essentially wood.
It doesn't appear that there were any structural modifications. As was alluded to here, apparently there were a bunch of cell phones being charged on a couple of extensions.
I think the captain might be exposed because there was no night watch walking about and it appears that this is required (even as it may not be regularly enforced).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.