|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
September 13, 2005Marijuana ruling could have far-reaching resultsCase involves GT crashByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - A series of appellate court decisions could make prosecutors' jobs easier in a case of a woman who said she smoked marijuana before a crash that killed another woman and left two children disabled. In a ruling released in July, state appeals court judges said prosecutors had to prove Delores Marie Derror's marijuana intoxication caused a January 2004 crash in Grand Traverse County. More recently, the same judges found that prosecutors only must prove Derror consumed marijuana and was at fault in the crash, said Robert Cooney, assistant Grand Traverse prosecutor. The reversal is tied to a July Michigan Supreme Court ruling that changed what prosecutors are required to prove in cases of operating under the influence of liquor causing death. That opinion overturned an earlier Supreme Court opinion in People v. Lardie, a case that stemmed from a 1993 car crash in Grand Traverse County that killed three teenagers. The Lardie decision followed a challenge to the 1991 law that provided more severe sentences for people convicted of causing death while drinking and driving. The justices in People v. Lardie found prosecutors must prove intoxication is the cause of a fatal accident. The opinion posed a challenge for prosecutors for the next decade. "It's a fine distinction, but at the same time, it did have a practical impact on how we try cases," Cooney said. Derror, 41, was driving a sport utility vehicle on a snow-covered M-72 near Kalkaska when she lost control and hit a car driven by Randy Elkins. Elkins' girlfriend, Angela Grierson, 28, was killed in the collision, which also paralyzed two of Elkins' daughters, Brittany and Eden, then 10 and 11 years old. Derror was charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs causing death and three charges of causing serious injury. Derror told police she smoked marijuana four hours before the accident. Derror's attorney, Randy Smith, could not be reached for comment, but previously said the crash was "an unfortunate accident during a horrific winter day." Cooney said the recent court opinions are not likely to hurry along the case against Derror. See Related Stories: Mother of 4 seeks damages from car crash - August 18, 2005 Court: Prosecutors must show pot was cause - July 22, 2005 Accident report: Woman had pot in system - April 8, 2004 Driver may face charges for pot - January 14, 2004 Police: Fatal crash driver smoked marijuana - January 13, 2004
|
|
