Twp teen's conviction reversed

[richardkelsey]

Jul 18, 2008 13:32:29 GMT -5 @cheryl said:

Freehold Township teen's reckless-driving conviction reversed
Judge: Driver wasn't responsible for January 2007 crash that killed 4 on Kozloski Road

By Ed Johnson • STAFF WRITER • July 18, 2008


FREEHOLD — In a dramatic turnabout, a Superior Court judge on Friday overturned the reckless driving conviction of a Freehold Township man, telling him he was not responsible for the fiery Kozloski Road crash that killed four people on Jan. 10, 2007.

The decision by Judge Anthony J. Mellaci Jr. brushed aside the conviction of William Brennessel, 18, for reckless driving and speeding in excess of 70 miles per hour in a 50-mile zone. That verdict was returned on Feb. 6 by Freehold Township Municipal Court Judge Thomas F.X. Foley after hearing several days of testimony in the case.

Mellaci said the evidence showed Brennessel's speed was anywhere from 65 to 69 milesper hour that day. He said a police estimate of a higher speed was little more than a "hunch."

When Foley found Brennessel guilty he described the events that led to the crash as "a blatant act of racing on the highway."

Allegations that racing had taken place before the collision had dominated the trial, which was moved to Municipal Court after the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office did not find sufficient evidence to file such charges.

Three Freehold High School students and a 68-year-old woman were killed in a
two-vehicle crash on the afternoon of Jan. 10, 2007. Police estimated the car the three teens were in was travelling in excess of 90 miles per hour before the crash.

Though Brennessel's car was not involved in the collision, Freehold Township
Municipal Prosecutor Nicole Sonneblick had argued that eyewitness testimony and physical evidence built the case that he was speeding and driving recklessly.

That evidence hinged on the testimony of an eyewitness who said that Dragonetti and Brennessel's cars crossed the intersection of Kozloski and Dutch Lane roads at "neck snapping speed" as well as a police analysis of the shrapnel like damage to Brennessel's car from flying debris generated by the collision.

But Mellaci said his review of close to 600 pages of trial transcripts led him to a
different conclusion.

He ruled the analysis by police investigators was not sufficient to support the
charge that Brennessel was speeding at "70 plus" miles per hour as police charged, or to prove recklessness.

With that, he dropped Brennessel's two year license suspension to six months and slashed his sentence of 180 days community service to 75 hours.

At the request of Brennessel's attorney, Raymond A. Raya, he told Brennessel he was not responsible for the deaths of Michael Dragonetti, 17, James Warnock, 17, Andrew Lundy, 16, and Ruth MacArthur, 68. All were killed when Dragonetti's car spun out of control and smashed into a school van being driven by MacArthur. Police said Dragonetti and his two passengers were all killed before his car erupted into flames. MacArthur also died instantly, police said. A 14-year-old boy in the school van suffered some fractures and internal injuries, and was the sole survivor.

"This is one of my greatest triumphs as an attorney," Raya said. "I had an
innocent client who had to struggle and persevere and because of the hard work of Judge Mellaci, who took the time to read all of these transcripts for himself, justice was served."

Attempts to reach the families of those killed in the crash were unsuccessful.

Sonnenblick, the municipal prosecutor, did not immediately return a call seeking
comment.

I certainly did not sit in on the original case -- nor did I read the 600 pages of trial transcripts. I would only say this -- when it comes to factual questions, most competent Courts of review -- usually appellate Courts, give great discretion of findings of facts and credibility to the lower courts. The reason for this is, of course, that it is much easier to assess the credibility of a live witness, rather than merely reading words in a transcript.

It seems, on the surface, quite remarkable that this Court appears to have substituted its judgment of the facts and credibility of witness it never saw, for the judgment of a Court that did see and assess those witnesses. That is more than somewhat unusual.

[leelye]

Rich,

If my memory serves me correctly, this case was origanally kicked back down to Municipal Court because the Prosecutor's Office did not have enough evidence to pursue this individual on a Superior Court level.

Leelye

[richardkelsey]

Jul 18, 2008 14:47:11 GMT -5 leelye said:

Rich,

If my memory serves me correctly, this case was originally kicked back down to Municipal Court because the Prosecutor's Office did not have enough evidence to pursue this individual on a Superior Court level.

Leelye

Well -- they produced eye-witnesses and took testimony at the municipal trial. That's my only point. Some Judge sat and took live testimony and assessed witnesses. That's how the system works.

I assume the first line of "appeal" in a municipal case is to Superior Court in NJ -- which Ironically puts a trial court judge in the position of an appellate Court judge -- 2 entirely different functions. (In VA a case like this could also be appealed from traffic court to Circuit Court -- but the "appeal" would be a De Novo or "new" trial. That means the matter is heard again at the higher trial level, where the trial court again hears and sees the evidence in person.

My only point -- which is a technical legal point is -- it is highly unusual for Courts to disregard or over-turn findings of "fact" when it comes to issues of witness credibility. Appeals courts routinely overturn cases on issues of law -- as the appeals Courts "make" law or interpret it -- as it may be. Great deference is given to findings of fact -- and usually, the findings must be "clearly erroneous" for a Judge who did not hear and see the facts to over-rule one who has. That's my only point.

It's weird -- and this story doesn't give an informed reader any indication of how this Court reached that conclusion.

[leelye]

Rich,

I'm not defending this young man or his actions, but it seems the municipal courts were trying to make him a scapegoat for insurance purposes and future civil lawsuits for the families of the deceased. Just my opinion.

Leelye

[novillero]

Jul 20, 2008 12:07:07 GMT -5 wlisa54 said:

Municipal prosecutors are usually a local friend of a friend. So you get what you get.

After reading above that the case was remanded from Superior Court to Municipal Court due to a lack of evidence, and Rich's comments that it is unusual for a higher court judge to make factual determinations that go over and above the judge who actually heard the testimony, what are you trying to say about the prosecutor in this case?

Doing a little bit of research on the internets, I did the google and found the following:

Ms. Sonnenblick is a former Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor and has served as the municipal proescutor for Manalapan as well as Freehold Township:
newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2007/0705/Front_page/056.html

she is also asst prosecutor for sea bright:
www.seabrightnj.org/PDFs/1-5-2008%20Reorganization%20Minutes.pdf

and a member of the monmouth county child's advocacy board
friendsofmccac.org/board.htm

[novillero]

a review of the case was in the transcript a while back:

newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2007/0214/Front_page/003.html

[novillero]

Teen deemed not responsible for causing fatal '07 accident

On July 18, state Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci Jr., sitting in Freehold, found William Brennessel, 19, of Freehold Township, not guilty of reckless driving and cleared the teenager of responsibility in an accident that left three teenagers and one woman fatally injured, according to attorney Raymond Raya, who represented Brennessel.

With his decision, Mellaci overturned a lower court's ruling that had found Brennessel guilty of reckless driving, according to Raya, of Freehold.

The accident occurred on the afternoon of Jan. 10, 2007, on Kozloski Road, Freehold Township.

In the crash, three Freehold High School students, Michael Dragonetti, 17, James Warnock, 17, and Andrew Lundy, 16, and Old Bridge resident Ruth Mac- Arthur, 68, were killed. The accident occurred when a Cadillac CTS being driven by Dragonetti lost control and crashed into a minivan being driven by Mac- Arthur.

The car being driven by Brennessel was not involved in the crash.

"My faith in our system of justice is resolute. Today's ruling is not a triumph of any one attorney or defendant, but it shows that our legal system is strong. Will Brennessel was innocent on the day this happened, he was innocent despite the lower court's verdict and finally, today, he is officially innocent as well," Raya said. "This case has been very trying for all parties involved. My heart still goes out to the victims of this tragic accident."

Specifically, according to Raya, Mellaci found that the municipal court testimony of the three witnesses who testified that Brennessel was not driving in a reckless manner and did not contribute to the accident to be consistent with the physical evidence and consistent with the one eyewitness who was cited to have been without bias.

On the other hand, Mellaci found that the expert witnesses for the state did not have the scientific evidence necessary to prove the case against the defendant, Raya said.

"It has been clear to me from the very beginning that Freehold is a community that was reeling over this accident. It is quite natural for a community to try to find someone or something to blame for such a tragedy," the attorney said.

"It was clear through this process the state's expert witnesses, the prosecution, the municipal court judge and the community thought they found the person responsible for the accident. But this person was innocent and the only thing standing between him and the pitchforks and torches of the community was our legal system and a hardworking, scrupulously prepared judge," he added.

Raya said Mellaci did find Brennessel guilty of speeding for traveling between 60 and 65 mph in a 50 mph zone, but reiterated that the speeding did not cause the fatal accident. He said this is also consistent with a prior release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office that stated that Brennessel "was not being charged with causing the fatal accident."

newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2008/0723/front_page/005.html