Congressman faces trial in traffic death
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Congressman Janklow could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter.
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FLANDREAU, South Dakota (AP) -- Bill Janklow, a former four-term South Dakota governor and the state's only congressman, returns to his boyhood hometown Monday to face a trial that may decide his political future.
The 64-year-old Republican is charged with speeding, running a stop sign, reckless driving and manslaughter in an August 16 accident that killed a motorcyclist at a rural intersection in South Dakota.
If convicted of manslaughter, he could face up to 10 years in prison, as well as a House ethics committee investigation.
Under the committee's rules, any representative convicted of a crime that carries two or more years in prison should refrain from voting in the chamber until his or her record is cleared, or until re-elected.
Dems may gain from trial
Democrats are in a good position to gain from the trial, expected to last about a week, said Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Democrat Stephanie Herseth, who lost her bid for Congress to Janklow last year, already has said she will run for the U.S. House seat again.
"You cannot absolutely rule him out, but my guess is that wiser heads will encourage him to move aside," Sabato said Sunday in a telephone interview.
In South Dakota, Janklow's penchant for fast-driving, documented by a stack of speeding tickets over the years, is about as well known as his record as one of the state's leading politicians. He served as South Dakota's attorney general for four years and governor for 16 years before being elected to Congress.
The day of the crash, Janklow was driving 71 mph in a 55 mph zone when he ran a stop sign south of Flandreau, putting his Cadillac into the path of a motorcycle, according to Moody County State's Attorney Bill Ellingson.
The motorcycle's rider, Randy Scott, a 55-year-old farmer, trucking business owner and volunteer firefighter from nearby Hardwick, Minnesota, died at the scene.
Janklow suffered a broken bone in one hand and bleeding on the brain in the crash.
Medical condition
He has declined to comment on the charges against him, but court documents show that a lingering medical condition could contribute to his defense.
According to documents filed by deputy prosecutor Roger Ellyson, Janklow might have suffered a diabetic reaction about the time of the late-afternoon crash. The record says Janklow, a diabetic, took his insulin but had not eaten. It also indicates he was taking the medication Atenolol, which can mask symptoms of a diabetic reaction.
Janklow's lawyer, Ed Evans, said prosecutors violated an agreement not to release the information. And he said a medical defense is not a certainty.
If the defense does offer testimony that the accident was caused at least in part by Janklow's health, the judge could allow testimony about his 12 speeding tickets over a five-year period in the 1990s and three accidents on his driving record.
Judge Rodney Steele denied the prosecution's request to present that evidence to jurors but said he would reconsider if Janklow makes an excuse for speeding or claims there was no conscious decision to speed.
Close-call
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Janklow was driving this Cadillac in the August 16 accident that killed motorcyclist Randy Scott.
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One incident, however, will be allowed into the case, a reported close-call at the same intersection a year ago.
Jennifer Walters of Trent said that on December 29, 2002, Janklow nearly hit her family's pickup when he ran a stop sign at the same intersection where Scott died. She said she didn't press charges because Janklow was governor at the time.
In a sworn statement filed November 10, Janklow said he "knew this intersection very well and had traveled through the intersection occasionally for at least the last 20 years."
Ellingson said Tuesday that some surprise witnesses also have come forward, including a woman who believes she met Janklow just before the August 16 crash. Steele said he will let three of those four people testify. According to a document filed Tuesday, Ellingson listed 22 other potential witnesses, including people who came upon the accident, law enforcement officers and the aide who was riding with Janklow.
For the defense, Evans said he plans to call 12 witnesses, including at least four medical experts and an accident reconstructionist.
He has not said if Janklow will testify.
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