LAKEPORT ? Defendant, attorneys, journalists and audience alike were ushered into the hallway Wednesday in the trial against Bismarck Dinius after the judge ordered the out-of-session courtroom closed as the loud jury deliberates.
Dinius was at the tiller of Mark Weber”s sailboat April 29, 2006 when off-duty Capt. Russell Perdock of the Lake County Sheriff”s Office collided with the vessel in his powerboat. Sailboat passenger Lynn Thornton died as a result of the crash. Dinius is charged with felony boating under the influence and two misdemeanor boating under the influence charges.
Jurors deliberated in a room connected to the courtroom, allowing pieces of jurors” sentences to escape beyond the wood-paneled walls into the ears of a few reporters and audience members. A television reporter Twittered about what the jurors said, leading District Attorney Jon Hopkins to request that the bailiff close the courtroom when court is not in session.
Hopkins argued it”s a misdemeanor to listen to a jury deliberate, although he doesn”t plan to press charges, he said.
“There is absolutely no right to sit in the courtroom when the jury is locked up and deliberating,” Hopkins said.
Defense attorney Victor Haltom argued to keep the courtroom open until the jury decides.
“The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution provides that a jury trial is a public trial,” Haltom said. “There”s no exception to that.”
Judge J. Michael Byrne closed the courtroom while it isn”t in session to give the jurors privacy, he said.
Dinius sat with his attorneys for less than an hour in the courtroom as jurors” laughing and voices could be heard.
While deliberating, jurors had questions about boating laws, gave a note to the bailiff and heard from Byrne that the rules were in the instructions he and the attorney gave them earlier.
Byrne gave the jury instructions on sorting through the evidence and coming up with a verdict.
“You alone must judge the credibility and believability of the witnesses,” Byrne said to the jurors.
Byrne outlined what the prosecution must have proven to convict Dinius of the three charges.
For the felony boating under the influence causing bodily injury charge the jury has to agree on four facts, Byrne told the jurors. The defendant must have been operating a vessel. The defendant must have been operating a vessel while under the influence. While operating a vessel under the influence the defendant neglected to perform a legal duty. The defendant”s neglect to perform a legal duty caused bodily injury of a person.
The jury must not find Dinius guilty of the felony if it reasonably doubts the sailboat lights were off, Byrne said.
The operator is “the person on board who was steering the vessel while under way,” Byrne told the jury.
Sailing vessels under way must have sidelights and stern lights switched on from sunset to sunrise, Byrne said. Nothing in the boating rules exonerates anyone.
“If there is a conflict in evidence do not simply count the number of witnesses,” Byrne told the jury.
On Wednesday Haltom said he hopes to have a not guilty verdict today.
“Bismarck is not guilty of the charges because he”s not responsible,” Haltom said.
Haltom said Perdock was at fault and Weber was operating the sailboat.
Hopkins thinks the jury is going through the evidence as they should and he presented enough evidence for a conviction, he said.
“I think what they”ve done here is rejected the knee-jerk response about sending us a message in Lake County,” Hopkins said.
Jury deliberations will continue 9 a.m. today in the Lake County Superior Court at 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
Contact Katy Sweeny at ksweeny@record-bee.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
