People v. Galloway

Outcome: Not Guilty

Description: In this Careless driving causing death case, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty after one hour. The case involved an out-of-state motorcycle rider and his passenger, who lost control of the bike after a minivan swerved in front of them. The Driver Mr. Galloway was ejected and suffered serious injuries. The passenger was ejected and died on scene. The police questioned Mr. Galloway in a state of half consciousness and while he was under the influence of major narcotics, including Versed, an amnestic, and used his partial admissions against him to show that he caused the accident. The driver of the minivan's account that she did not swerve in front of the bike was not investigated. At trial, I presented the treating E.R. physician and an expert in emergency medicine to show that Mr. Galloway's admissions were completely unreliable. I also retained a forensic accident reconstructionist who was able to establish our case theory by using the scene evidence (skid marks, gouges in the road surface, damage to the bike) in our favor. Finally, I was able to undermine the credibility of some of the prosecution's key witnesses. Mr. Galloway testified in his own behalf and described his long standing motorcycle hobby, the particular care he takes in preparing for a road trip, and the care he takes in obeying the traffic laws. The case was submitted to the jury who returned its verdict of not guilty in about an hour.