Attorney fights for drug law to be declared unconstitutional

Angie Wagner

Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2000 | 11:19 a.m.

Blood tests don't lie, but is there a difference between using illegal drugs and being impaired by them? An attorney for the woman accused of running down and killing six teen-agers as they picked up trash along Interstate 15 believes so.

"You can't just automatically presume that someone is impaired," John Watkins, attorney for 21-year-old Jessica Williams, said Monday.

But prosecutors say Williams, an exotic dancer from Littlefield, Ariz., was impaired by marijuana and the drug Ecstasy when she fell asleep and plowed her father's minivan into the teen work crew on March 19. The teens were part of a county program that lets misdemeanor offenders work off their sentences.

The county was later fined by the state for safety violations and discontinued the roadside trash program.

Watkins claims his client was just tired. He wants a new drug law that makes it a crime to drive under the influence of drugs to be declared unconstitutional.

An evidentiary hearing on the matter began Monday.

Dr. Raymond Kelly testified for the prosecution about the effects marijuana can have on a person's driving skills. He said the drug can affect coordination, memory, reaction time and also cause sleepiness.

Blood tests showed Williams had 5.5 nanograms per milliliter of blood in her system. The limit allowed by the new Nevada law is two nanograms.

Prosecutors also called state Sen. Jon Porter, who is running for Congress, to testify about the 1999 law, which he wrote. He said he decided to draft the legislation after a family who had lost a loved one came to him and suggested stiffer penalties for drivers on drugs.

Because some drugs, such as marijuana, can be passively ingested, legislators opted to set specific limits for each prohibited substance. Other states have passed similar laws.

Williams admitted to smoking marijuana about two hours before the accident near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Ecstasy, a synthetic hallucinogen, also was found in her system.

But Watkins argues that there is a difference between using drugs and being impaired by them.

"If you look at the law, it's just unconstitutional," Watkins said.

The hearing will continue Wednesday afternoon.

Williams is scheduled to go to trial Jan. 29 on variety of charges, including involuntary manslaughter.