Criminalization of Traffic Accidents to the Benefit of Well-Connected Personal Injury Attorneys

Is it legitimate to be disturbed by the criminalization of a traffic accident over twenty months after the fact in State v. Watson, Dane County Case No. 04 CF 876? In that matter the defendant was an elderly African-American woman with no criminal record, and there was no indication that she was driving under the influence. The apparent cause of the accident was Ms. Watson’s reaction to her medication. There was no loss of life, nor any permanent injury. Why did the Dane County District Attorney’s Office and ADA Paul Humphrey decide that this accident needed, so long after the fact, to become a crime? Was this due to civil negotiations stalling? Was this due to the civil attorney representing the victim being Democratic Assemblyman Gary Hebl?1My source that the attorney was Gary Hebl is none other than his client. The specter of prosecutions being pursued as favors so that others can make money is frightening to any right-thinking person.

The above paragraph is an excerpt from Joe Sommers' letter to the Supreme Court.

Footnotes

1. (Return.) My source that the attorney was Gary Hebl is none other than his client.

Vote for Joe Sommers on February 20th and April 3rd.