Judging Mosley

By Dana Gentry

Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008 | 2:42 p.m.

Judge Donald Mosley says his 16-year-old son Michael will not run from whatever responsibility he may have in a crash that killed 15-year-old Olivia Hyten. But Judge Mosley's statements at his son's arraignment raise the question of whether the judge is running from his responsibility for allowing his son to drive, despite a restriction allowing the teen only drive to and from school.

Judge Mosley, appearing in court yesterday with his son who is in custody on suspicion of DUI, said the following:

"Terry, the mother here, has 50-50 fiscal and legal custody. She refused to assume responsibility in my absence in overseeing our son. This is the result."

To blame Terry Mosley for this incident is incredible. Here's what she said at the arraignment:

"Judge Mosley assured the court that Michael would not drive except to school and back. That was violated. Judge Mosley left Michael for a week. He went out of town hunting for almost a week. He was unsupervised. Judge Mosley is in contempt of the court order, the custody order and has been for over a year and a half. He's had Michael in his custody exclusively for the last year and a half. I would ask that the court release Michael solely to my custody, and I can assure this court, if the court wishes house arrest in this case, with or without that, Michael will not drive. Michael will be supervised. There are a whole different set of rules in my house than there are in Judge Mosley's house."

Also, the judge's claim that Terry Mosley refused to care for her son contradicts what Terry Mosley told me and makes no sense given the judge's aversion to co-parenting, which is documented in a court order written by a former state supreme court justice. Watch tonight's program for details.

Also tonight, the Hyten accident is causing flashbacks for friends and family of the victims of a tragic 2003 drunk driving accident that killed three Green Valley teens. Jon talks with Rich Harrison, who counseled the driver, Sean Larimer, who was 16 when he got drunk at a party and slammed into a wall just blocks from home. Officer Mike Hull of the Henderson Police Department talks about his presentations with Larimer at local schools. Hear what the two say about parents who condone drinking among their teens.