Report On The Trial

New Bern, NC

Lee Bettis, former mayor of New Bern: guilty of all charges.  He was sentenced to 90 days in jail for the DWI charge and 12 months of supervised probation for the two counts of child abuse. But he was not punished for the reckless driving charge.  That was the result of the three day long trial.

I sat through every minute of it.  I learned a lot.  I was very impressed by the competency of the prosecutors, the defense lawyers and the judge.  I researched Mr. Bettis on the Internet, and I find him to be a very interesting and very accomplished man.  This verdict will have a devastating effect on Bettis' career and family.  I'm sad for their sake.

The charges were DUI, reckless driving, and child abuse (for having 2 kids in the car).  The local scuttlebutt was that the New Bern establishment was out to get Mr. Bettis.  He was a New York lawyer who moved to New Bern and took on the entrenched interests.  It is easy to believe that they wanted to get them.

The Trial
It started with the testimony of three women who saw Bettis' reckless driving on 5/6/2013.   Tapes of 911 calls reinforced what they said.  His driving was certainly reckless.  He endangered lots of people, including his kids.  It was so bad, that some explanation other than bad driving was imperative.

From the first day, there was a great deal of legal wrangling about HGT and especially VGT (vertical gaze nystagmus) tests for influence.  Those tests have to do with fluttering of the eyes.  Not all states allow them.  They are very effective but very controversial. The admissibility of VGT evidence and the qualifications of police officer Rodgers to administer the test and interpret the result were challenged.  At first the judge ruled to exclude it, but on the second day after more argument, he changed his mind.   The lawyers were prescient. As it turned out, the VGT test (in my opinion) was the one and only conclusive piece of evidence in my mind.   Without the VGT, I would have voted not guilty.  With the VGT, I would have voted guilty.

You see, Bettis blew 0.00 on the breathalyzer.  No alcohol.  His blood test showed the presence of Xanax (a tranquilizer), but it did not show how much was in his blood. He could have taken  Xanax a week before the incident and still have it show up in the blood test.   But it doesn't matter for the VGT test.    The law says 1) That VGT is either present or not present.  2) That if it is present, the only possible cause is a high dose of some substance.  Rogers said VGT was present, so the state did not have to prove what he actually took, or how much or when he took it.  All that doesn't matter.

When the prosecution rested, I looked forward to the defense.  I felt that the state's evidence was very thin.  I wanted the defense to present an alternative theory of why Bettis drove that way.  An alternative to hang my hat on to establish reasonable doubt.  No such theory came.  The defense was even weaker than the prosecution's case.

My Conclusions
In my book, the entire case turned on that VGT test.  I'm not convinced that Xanax was the substance.  Neither side's story in my opinion, explained what was really going on that morning of 5/6/2013.

So, was it a conspiracy by the establishment to get Bettis?  Well, they didn't put him behind the wheel that day, and I do believe that officer Rogers' field tests were done properly and reported correctly.  As I said, I believe Bettis to be guilty of DUI.

On the other hand, they may have piled on the charges in excess, and they called in the state's heaviest hitters to make the case against Bettis for what could have been treated as a less serious crime.  They main charge was not just DUI, but aggravated DUI (which carries a stiffer penaly).  They asked the jury if his DUI was aggravated by reckless and dangerous driving, but they they added a separate charge of reckless driving (yes he did).   They asked the jury if his DUI was aggravated by having children in the car (yes he did), but then they added separate charges of child abuse.  That sounds like piling on to me.  I suspect that other defendants in similar circumstances would have been charged with only DUI.

A New Want

New Bern, NC

 

I just finished writing about bucket list aversion. But today, I just found something I really want to experience. Oh well, my list may not be bucket, but it is a list.

 

My new item is to see the fall colors in the southern Appalacian Mountains along the Blur Ridge Highway. Hereto, I thought of fall colors only in relation to the northeast, NY, VT, MA. But today i saw the picture below, taken this week on the Blur Ridge Higway. Wow oh wow oh wow. Not only are there colors, but the air is less hazy and the views of the valleys are much better than when we were there June 2013.

 

 

 

 

Keeping Busy

New Bern, NC


My readers know me best as a sailing cruiser.  But I'm also a retired guy; in many respects no different than other retired guys.   I have a lot of time on my hands.   My preference is to spend most of that time in some kind of intellectual pursuit.

I'm a news junkie.   I spend 30-60 minutes per day studying theoretical physics.  I read lots of stuff.  I listen to lectures and debates and oral arguments and so on in audio and video.  I'm an entertainment fan, series like Sopranos, Damages, Good Wife, and Breaking Bad really turn me on.  One experience I never had was seeing a jury trial.  I tried several times before to see a trial but it never worked out.

This week I connected.   I spent all day yesterday and today in the DWI/Child Abuse/Reckless driving trial of a man who was mayor of New Bern at the time of his arrest.   It is a doozy of a trial.  They trucked in a jury from another county (first time in NC history), a judge from a third county, and a special prosecutor who appears to be NC's top gun in DWI matters.  The defense attoryey also appears to be the state's top gun on DWI defense.  Wow.

Talking with locals at the marina, I learned that they think that the old guard of New Bern is out to get the mayor, and that the whole thing is conspiracy to frame him.  Double wow.

So what's my impression so far?  I'd rather wait until the end of the trial to say because I haven't heard the heart of the defense case yet.  But I've already been surprised by legal tricks, surprises, and twists, legal wrangling, and dramatic testimony that make me feel that I could be watching an episode of The Good Wife.   Like I said, a doozy of a trial. It may last the rest of the week.
 
News story here.

Skydive Postponed

New Bern, NC

 

Yesterday, the area was covered by thick low clouds. The dive master said "no go." We rescheduled foo next Sunday.

 

Bummer.

 

The Bucket List Remedy

New Bern, NC

Dave and I are booked to go skydiving on Sunday. (Don't worry, I'll blog about it.)  When the word got out, the most common comment I got from friends was, "Is that on your bucket list."   I find that offensive and insulting.  I'll explain why.

Libby and I are already living the dream.  We have been doing so for nearly 10 years now.  Few people in real life are as lucky as we.   If I were to die tomorrow, I would have no regrets.  Given those circumstances, I have no need for a bucket list.   But when I tell people that, they react as if I should be an object of pity, wallowing in depression and lethargy.  They believe in the poster above, and forget that the choice is not binary; bucket list or fear, but that there are other possibilities.

So, what do I do when Libby raises the subject of bucket lists?  (Here's a secret of a long and happy marriage people.)  I would never tell Libby to her face that she was offensive and insulting; no matter what.   Yet without harsh words, I did something that guarantees that she will never raise the subject of bucket lists ever again.  So what did I do?   The answer is highly amusing, but I can't post it here on the blog because our grandkids read this blog.  If you would like the answer, send me an email, and I'll send the answer back.