From Friday evening, in case you missed it: Wellington polo mogul John Goodman was sentenced to 16 years in prison at a hearing that lasted more than two and a half hours and featured the interrogation of a juror, testimony from victim Scott Wilson's mother, and the reading of a quotation from Audrey Hepburn.
Judge Jeffrey Colbath also said Goodman would be allowed to stay under house arrest on a $7 million bond while his lawyers appeal the conviction. It's not clear what Goodman's lawyers will say on appeal, but it's almost certainly related to the numerous accusations of juror misconduct that surfaced after the trial.
The most-discussed instance was that of juror Dennis DeMartin, who wrote a short book about the trial, which he managed to self-publish before the first sentencing hearing. The main point of argument on Friday was over one section of the book in which DeMartin admitted to performing a vodka-based experiment one night during the trial in which he had three drinks in an hour and walked around to help him determine if Goodman was fit to drive. It went directly against the judge's specific instructions to not perform any outside research.
Goodman's lawyers said the "experiment" violated Goodman's rights because his team didn't have the opportunity to rebut the results in open court. Colbath disagreed, saying the results were not "material" and "did not go into the jury room." But when Colbath said he did think it was "misconduct," Goodman lawyer Roy Black looked positively thrilled.
Paperwork about the bond agreement won't be filed until later today, but the Palm Beach Post had a breakdown of what it will look like: Goodman, if he posts bond, will be fitted with an electronic monitoring device and will have to hire off-duty police officers to watch him around the clock.
There are also stipulations about Goodman's girlfriend, whom Goodman legally adopted so she could oversee his children's $300 million trust if he went to jail.
According to the Post, Goodman's bond would immediately be revoked if a Delaware court recognizes the adoption and finds Goodman's girlfriend could get access to money that she could share with him. Stay tuned for the documents.
