Williams’ attorney says conviction in teens’ deaths illegal

Wednesday, June 26, 2002 | 9:15 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Jessica Williams, serving an 18 to 48-year term in the freeway deaths of six teenagers, was illegally convicted, a defense lawyer told the Nevada Supreme Court Tuesday.

John Watkins, representing the 23-year-old former exotic dancer, said Williams was the victim of double jeopardy and that the law on driving after using marijuana was invalid.

But Deputy District Attorney Bruce Nelson characterized the arguments by Watkins as "sound and fury" and holding "zero" constitutional weight.

Nelson said Williams used illegal drugs and stayed up all night.

"As a result of those evil choices, six young children were killed," he said in urging the court to uphold the convictions and sentence.

The hour-long arguments were carried live on Las Vegas One.

The court took the arguments under submission Tuesday and will rule later. But some of the justices indicated they didn't buy Watkins' argument that the law was faulty.

A 1999 law makes it illegal for people to drive with two nanograms of TCH in their blood. TCH is a major ingredient of marijuana.

Watkins said the Legislature received erroneous information and thought that a person with two nanograms would be impaired. He said a small amount of marijuana in the blood does not result in a person being impaired.

Justice Myron Leavitt said the Legislature makes the laws and the court interprets them. He noted that Watkins made that argument about impairment to the Legislature that rejected it.

Justice Debra Agosti said a person is guilty of drunken driving if his blood alcohol level is 0.10. She said the law on marijuana is similar, in her view.

Nelson said people are affected differently when taking drugs, so the Legislature imposed a flat ban.

Williams maintained she had used marijuana before the accident but was not impaired when her car, traveling at about 75 mph, went off Interstate 15 and plowed into the youngsters, who were part of a juvenile detention crew cleaning up the highway north of Las Vegas.

In her statement in District Court, Williams said she fell asleep at the wheel. She was sentenced to six consecutive terms of three to eight years. Currently in prison in North Las Vegas, she will be eligible to apply for parole from her first term in March.

Watkins argued Williams was the victim of double jeopardy. He said she was acquitted of being under the influence of drugs but then convicted of a similar charge.

"You cannot be acquitted and found guilty of the same offense," he argued.

There was one trial in this case and there were alternative offenses charged under the count of drugged driving, he said. He equated it to a murder trial in which a jury is given the chance to decide between first and second-degree murder.

Watkins said the state failed to preserve the blood samples of Williams so he could do his own test to determine the level of THC. The test was performed but then Watkins learned the blood sample had not been refrigerated so there was a possibility of contamination.

"The state blew me out of the water," he said, because they never told him the blood was not refrigerated. "It's totally unfair to put a young woman in prison for 18 years when there was a failure to preserve the blood."

Nelson said the state did not have a duty to preserve the blood. And Watkins waited 10 1/2 months before notifying authorities he wanted to do a sampling of the blood. He suggested Watkins waited until he knew the blood deteriorated.

At that point in the argument, Watkins jumped to his feet and interrupted Nelson.

"That was totally improper," he said, referring to Nelson's comments.

But Nelson said Watkins displayed "clever lawyering" by waiting that long until the sample was contaminated.

The prosecution presented evidence that Williams had 5.5 nanograms of THC in her blood along with a trace amount of Ecstasy.

Watkins told the Supreme Court that District Judge Mark Gibbons threatened to put him in jail at the trial if he sought to argue that there may have been negligence on the part of Clark County for not putting up safety devices at the accident scene.

Killed in the incident were Scott Garner Jr., 14; Alberto Puig, 16; Anthony Smith, 14; Rebeccah Glicken, 15; Malena Stoltzfus, 15, and Jennifer Booth, 16.

They were among 46 youthful offenders who were taken to the freeway median by the Clark County Youth Services Department to pick up trash while working off sentences for minor juvenile infractions.

The tragedy led to improved safety precautions for juveniles who work along the highways.