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Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Law - What is the law when a passenger jumps or falls from a vehicle and dies?

In Indiana, the case of Michael Armstrong v. State of Indiana went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied cert. Here are quotes (Evansville C&P) from initial press coverage of the Indiana Court of Appeals ruling in 2004:

In May 2003, when Michael C. Armstrong failed to stop his car after his teenage passenger, Craig Mobley, fell from the moving vehicle and died, the 23-year-old Armstrong was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

But Armstrong's attorney, Ivan Arnaez, argued that while his client may have had a "moral duty" to stop at the scene, he didn't have a legal duty to do so, because what happened that day didn't constitute an "accident" under strict interpretation of Indiana law. He moved for the felony charge to be dismissed. On Tuesday, the Indiana Court of Appeals agreed with Arnaez, ruling that the charge against Armstrong should be dropped, but also ruling that anyone caught in a similar situation in the future could be charged with a crime.

The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer (see this March 2, 2005 ILB entry).

On June 15, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled (see ILB entry here):

We hold today that a driver of a vehicle who leaves the scene of an accident resulting in injury or death may be held criminally responsible even if the driver’s vehicle did not strike the injured or deceased party. * * *

Considering the wording of the statute along with this Court’s assessment of the statute’s predecessor, Armstrong had fair warning that his conduct—failing to stop after an accident resulting in death—was criminal. Therefore the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment does not bar Armstrong’s prosecution for this offense. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

This ILB entry from June 19, 2006 is headed "Evansville attorney disturbed by Supreme Court decision." Quotes from a story in the Princeton Daily Clarion included:
The Court of Appeals agreed with [trial judge] Penrod's view that being involved in an accident doesn't require that a vehicle hit another person or object, but just that a vehicle be involved in the accident. But the appellate court stopped short of applying the new interpretation to Armstrong's case retroactively, and ordered the case dismissed.

Gibson County Prosecutor Rob Krieg asked the Indiana Attorney General's office to take the case to the Indiana Supreme Court, and the court agreed to vacate the appellate court's decision in April 2005.

In the Thursday ruling, the high court held that a driver of a vehicle who leaves the scene of an accident resulting in injury or death may be held criminally responsible even if the driver's vehicle didn't strike the injured or deceased party. * * *

Following the Indiana Supreme Court's decision, Armstrong's case is set to return to Gibson Superior Court for a July 25 hearing, but [Evansville defense attorney Ivan] Arnaez said at that time he will inform the court that he intends to file a petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear questions in the case.

“We will file a federal question asking whether a law can be applied retroactively to convict someone,” he said. “If they grant the petition that means the court merely agrees to hear arguments. But if they say they want to hear (arguments) it may be a good sign it could reverse the decision of the Indiana Supreme Court.

On Nov. 2, 2006, according to this ILB entry, again quoting the Daily Clarion, "The United States Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from attorneys representing a Gibson County man facing charges related to a 2003 incident that resulted in a man's death, according to the court's on-line docket sheet."

What happened next? The Daily Clarion charges $5.00 to see a back story, so here is the "teaser" from the archives:

Armstrong to plead guilty, his attorney says
Staff writer PRINCETON-In November, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal. And so the case against Michael C. Armstrong continues in Gibson County. But now after almost four years of legal wrangling, his attorney is indicating that ...
5.0K - Mar. 8, 2007; scored 1000.0
And all this is relevant how? It came to mind this morning when I read this entry in Mitch Harper's Fort Wayne Observed:
Fort Wayne man now only facing misdemeanor charges in Kentucky

Early in February, it was noted in a post that Kerry Swygart of Fort Wayne had been arrested in the death of a fellow worker who fell off a truck Mr. Swygart was driving in Louisville, Kentucky. Authorities in Louisville charged him with murder at the time.

It was an unusual charge.

Last week, a Kentucky Grand Jury declined to indict Mr. Swygart on the more serious offenses. He now faces two misdemeanor charges.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 25, 2007 11:21 AM
Posted to General Law Related