Williams’ trial on hold pending court decision

Erica D. Johnson

Wednesday, July 9, 2003 | 9:47 a.m.

A new trial for Jessica Williams, the woman convicted of driving with drugs in her system and killing six teenagers, was put on hold Tuesday while the Nevada Supreme Court decides whether her acquittal will stand.

After overturning Williams' conviction, District Judge Michael Douglas granted a state motion to stay a second trial in the case until after the high court rules on the state's appeal fighting his decision.

Douglas said it would be a "waste of time" to go forward with the cost of a retrial without knowing the Supreme Court's decision. He also halted all pretrial motions.

The judge defended his decision to grant Williams, 23, a new trial and said he fully expected the high court to uphold his ruling.

"I firmly believe what I did was correct," he said. "But I don't have a crystal ball."

The ruling didn't go over well with defense attorney John Watkins, who had argued that the trial should go forward.

He was already in the midst of preparing for an August trial, he said.

"To stop everything at this juncture is prejudicial to my client," he said. "Jessica is sitting out there in the Nevada State Prison and she's entitled to go to trial."

Williams, who is in custody with bail set at $2.5 million, did not attend Tuesday's hearing.

The hearing marked the latest twist in the three-year-old case, which regained momentum in February when Douglas overturned Williams' conviction on six counts of driving under the influence of a controlled substance.

Douglas said carboxylic acid, a marijuana metabolite, is not listed on Nevada's prohibited substance statute. Williams was serving an 18- to 48-year prison sentence for the 2000 accident.

Though the case could drag on for another year, Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker said prosecutors are in for the long haul and don't intend to negotiate the case.

A jury already concluded that Williams was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, Booker said.

"Why should we negotiate this case?" he asked. "That would be unfair to the jury and the family of the victims as well as the community."

Watkins said "high political pressure" was the reason the state is so adamant about going to trial.

He said Clark County's role in having the teens pick up trash on the side of the highway as part of a county work program could also play a factor in the state's decision.

County officials last year approved a $3.5 million settlement with the victims' families but still denied culpability.

"It's just a big political case," Watkins said.

Both Watkins and Booker said the they had not discussed any specific negotiations.

During Tuesday's hearing, the cost of a new trial took center stage in prosecutors' argument against going forward prematurely.

Williams' first trial cost taxpayers more than $1 million, prosecutor Bruce Nelson said.

"Going forward with the trial would be an enormous waste of taxpayers money if she is not even entitled to a new trial," he said.

Douglas agreed that it would be "inappropriate" to spend county money on proceedings that the Supreme Court could decide should have never gone forward.

"The county treasury does not like to spend money for things it does not get," he said.

Douglas also commented on the state's looming budget crisis, which is unfolding in the Nevada Supreme Court.

"In considering our state's budget crisis, our state has some problems figuring out nickels and dimes," he said. "I don't want the county to have issues with nickels and dimes."