Last week, we told you how Polo mogul John Goodman's attorneys wanted his manslaughter, failure to render aid, and vehicular homicide sentences dropped, and for their client to be awarded a new trial, because of a self-published book written by one of the jurors.
See also:
- John Goodman's Lawyers Want a New Trial
And now that request is headed back to Judge Jeffrey Colbath to decide on what happens next.
Goodman, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison after he got drunk, got in his car, ran a stop sign, and then killed 23-year-old Scott Wilson when he crashed into him, is currently under house arrest on a $7 million appellate bond.
At the time of the accident, Goodman's blood-alcohol level was recorded at .177, more than twice the legal limit.
But his attorneys say Goodman deserves a new trial because juror Dennis DeMartin failed during jury selection to disclose information about his wife that he included in his awesomely titled self-published book, Will She Kiss Me or Kill Me?
In the book, DeMartin writes that his wife was once busted for DUI.
At the time of jury selection, DeMartin had told them that no one in his family had ever been arrested for DUI, according to Goodman's attorneys.
Now, Colbath must conduct another juror interview with DeMartin, which will likely happen between now and sometime in May.
The original motion released by the attorneys reads, in part, "jurors were specifically asked whether 'anyone in the panel themselves, close friend or family member or someone that affects you, has ever been arrested, charged or convicted or accused of a crime.'"
They say if DeMartin had disclosed the information about his wife's DUI arrest, they would never have agreed to his being on the jury.
Now, it could be this technicality that gives Goodman a whole new trial.
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