John Goodman's lawyers are looking for a way to get their client a retrial, and they just may have found it. Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath is set to attend a hearing that will set some ground rules for an interview with Dennis DeMartin, who Goodman's lawyers are accusing of being a liar.
DeMartin was a juror in the DUI manslaughter trial that found the polo mogul guilty and has him serving a 16-year prison sentence 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.
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 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.
Judge Colbath is set to interview DeMartin next week.
But this morning's hearing will be all about setting the ground rules for that interview. Goodman waived his right to be at the meeting.
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.
For his part, DeMartin explained himself to Colbath in a letter where he claims he blocked out the memory of his ex-wife's DUI. He blames the mental block on a stroke he suffered back in 1988.
Colbath is set to have his interview with DeMartin on April 29.
Follow Chris Joseph on Twitter
Follow @NewTimesBroward
