Timothy Conant doesn't deny there was alcohol and a trace of marijuana in his body the night he lost control of his truck and struck a tree. His friend, Richard Wallington, died in the crash.
But Conant isn't ready to accept that it impaired his driving, nor is he prepared for a probable prison sentence that would come if he is convicted of manslaughter or operating under the influence causing death. Prosecutors leveled those charges against him last week.
Because of the unclear applicability of marijuana laws, David Dodge, Conant's attorney, believes the 49-year-old Bailey man has a chance of beating the felony allegations stemming from the Feb. 11 crash.
"He recognizes the biggest loss is that a good friend is gone, but we don't believe either charge fits," Dodge said. "There wasn't gross negligence involved and the alcohol and the THC (the active chemical in marijuana) weren't factors.
"It's a tragic accident on slippery Michigan roads."
Dodge said Conant had a residual presence of THC in his system from earlier pot use that no longer affected his driving ability when he hit a patch of ice on 20 Mile Road in Spencer Township about 11:30 p.m. The truck went across the center line and into a tree, police said.
The defense attorney declined to release Conant's blood-alcohol content, but said a reading from a hospital test two hours after the crash could be extrapolated to argue he wasn't over the state's 0.08 legal limit for driving.
Kent County prosecutors say the combination of alcohol and marijuana allow for the 15-year felony charge. While state law sets a threshold for impaired driving, authorities can allege intoxication at lower levels.
Conant, who is free on a $5,000 bond, is set for a probable-cause hearing in Kent County District Court on May 25.
Dodge will argue the presence of marijuana no longer guarantees an ability to charge a person for being under the influence.
He cites a decision -- being challenged at the state Court of Appeals -- last year from Barry County Circuit Court Judge James Fisher that questioned the admissibility and standard regarding THC.
In that case, Justin Malik turned his vehicle in front of a motorcycle driven by off-duty sheriff's deputy Christopher Yonkers on Oct. 17, 2008, investigators said.
Yonkers died in the crash and tests later showed Malik had a 0.01 blood-alcohol content from one beer he drank after work. Malik admitted to smoking marijuana hours before the crash, police said.
Fisher, in his ruling, cited the state's voter-enacted Medical Marijuana Act conflicts with state statutes that say the drug has no medical use.
"The presence of marijuana may be detected for days, but the impairment lasts only a few hours," Fisher wrote. "(The law) criminalizes driving a motor vehicle days or weeks after consuming marijuana, long after any impairment has vanished."
Fisher's ruling states prosecutors need to prove the impairment, particularly since driving cases that involve death require minimum sentences of 29 to 57 months in prison.
"This court has no problem with sentencing impaired drivers to prison when they cause a death," the judge wrote. "Do we as a civilized society really think it is a good idea to imprison otherwise law-abiding citizens when they are involved in a fatal accident just because they used marijuana sometime in the two-to-four-week period before the accident?"
The Barry County judge allowed the charge addressing the alcohol/marijuana mix to remain for trial. Prosecutor Tom Evans appealed the ruling regarding the cannabis chemical.
Grand Rapids defense attorney Jeffrey Kortes, who represents Malik, says the Conant case resembles his client's on the marijuana grounds.
"The question is, can they prove it affected the driving?" Kortes said. "Just because it's there, doesn't mean it plays a role."
In Malik's case, Kortes said neither officers nor hospital workers noted any signs of intoxication in the hours after the fatal crash.
In Conant's case, Kent sheriff's deputies immediately flagged alcohol use as a possible factor in the crash, which followed the friends preparing for a weekend ice fishing tournament.
"It's a sad situation, but there's a very legitimate legal argument that needs to be addressed," Dodge said.
News Hawk: Warbux 420 MAGAZINE
Source: MLive.com
Author: Nate Reens
Contact: Nate Reens | The Grand Rapids Press | MLive.com
Copyright: 2010 Grand Rapids News
Website: Lawyer for man charged in fatal crash argues presence of marijuana in his system didn't impair his driving | - MLive.com
But Conant isn't ready to accept that it impaired his driving, nor is he prepared for a probable prison sentence that would come if he is convicted of manslaughter or operating under the influence causing death. Prosecutors leveled those charges against him last week.
Because of the unclear applicability of marijuana laws, David Dodge, Conant's attorney, believes the 49-year-old Bailey man has a chance of beating the felony allegations stemming from the Feb. 11 crash.
"He recognizes the biggest loss is that a good friend is gone, but we don't believe either charge fits," Dodge said. "There wasn't gross negligence involved and the alcohol and the THC (the active chemical in marijuana) weren't factors.
"It's a tragic accident on slippery Michigan roads."
Dodge said Conant had a residual presence of THC in his system from earlier pot use that no longer affected his driving ability when he hit a patch of ice on 20 Mile Road in Spencer Township about 11:30 p.m. The truck went across the center line and into a tree, police said.
The defense attorney declined to release Conant's blood-alcohol content, but said a reading from a hospital test two hours after the crash could be extrapolated to argue he wasn't over the state's 0.08 legal limit for driving.
Kent County prosecutors say the combination of alcohol and marijuana allow for the 15-year felony charge. While state law sets a threshold for impaired driving, authorities can allege intoxication at lower levels.
Conant, who is free on a $5,000 bond, is set for a probable-cause hearing in Kent County District Court on May 25.
Dodge will argue the presence of marijuana no longer guarantees an ability to charge a person for being under the influence.
He cites a decision -- being challenged at the state Court of Appeals -- last year from Barry County Circuit Court Judge James Fisher that questioned the admissibility and standard regarding THC.
In that case, Justin Malik turned his vehicle in front of a motorcycle driven by off-duty sheriff's deputy Christopher Yonkers on Oct. 17, 2008, investigators said.
Yonkers died in the crash and tests later showed Malik had a 0.01 blood-alcohol content from one beer he drank after work. Malik admitted to smoking marijuana hours before the crash, police said.
Fisher, in his ruling, cited the state's voter-enacted Medical Marijuana Act conflicts with state statutes that say the drug has no medical use.
"The presence of marijuana may be detected for days, but the impairment lasts only a few hours," Fisher wrote. "(The law) criminalizes driving a motor vehicle days or weeks after consuming marijuana, long after any impairment has vanished."
Fisher's ruling states prosecutors need to prove the impairment, particularly since driving cases that involve death require minimum sentences of 29 to 57 months in prison.
"This court has no problem with sentencing impaired drivers to prison when they cause a death," the judge wrote. "Do we as a civilized society really think it is a good idea to imprison otherwise law-abiding citizens when they are involved in a fatal accident just because they used marijuana sometime in the two-to-four-week period before the accident?"
The Barry County judge allowed the charge addressing the alcohol/marijuana mix to remain for trial. Prosecutor Tom Evans appealed the ruling regarding the cannabis chemical.
Grand Rapids defense attorney Jeffrey Kortes, who represents Malik, says the Conant case resembles his client's on the marijuana grounds.
"The question is, can they prove it affected the driving?" Kortes said. "Just because it's there, doesn't mean it plays a role."
In Malik's case, Kortes said neither officers nor hospital workers noted any signs of intoxication in the hours after the fatal crash.
In Conant's case, Kent sheriff's deputies immediately flagged alcohol use as a possible factor in the crash, which followed the friends preparing for a weekend ice fishing tournament.
"It's a sad situation, but there's a very legitimate legal argument that needs to be addressed," Dodge said.
News Hawk: Warbux 420 MAGAZINE
Source: MLive.com
Author: Nate Reens
Contact: Nate Reens | The Grand Rapids Press | MLive.com
Copyright: 2010 Grand Rapids News
Website: Lawyer for man charged in fatal crash argues presence of marijuana in his system didn't impair his driving | - MLive.com
