SECOND JURY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY HAVE GIVEN WILLIAMS A CHANCE

Less than a year after the van she was driving left Interstate 15 and
ended the lives of six teen-agers, Jessica Williams won a chance to
get her life back.

She can thank her attorney later. Williams owes a bigger thanks to
that irresponsible juror who popped off a few weeks ago and caused a
mistrial in her case. The second jury empaneled appeared not only
younger, but from a more diverse background that was sure to better
appreciate the subtle differences between narcotics use and
impairment, which was a pivotal question in her case.

Williams was convicted of six counts of felony DUI, but the jury also
decided she was not impaired by the trace of marijuana and Ecstasy
that was found in her bloodstream after the March 19 accident, which
killed members of a juvenile roadside work crew.

The victims' families found some relief in the conviction, but
Williams' attorney John Watkins was flat out elated at the jury's
application of the law. It was almost as if Watkins' client hadn't
been convicted at all.

In a brief huddle after the jury was dismissed from District Judge
Mark Gibbons' courtroom, Watkins instructed the Williams family and
friends to have faith that an appeals court would understand the
meaning of the jury's two-sided finding and throw out the felony DUI
conviction. Watkins' unabashed self-confidence aside, Williams faces
up to 120 years in prison, and chances are good she still has a long
fight ahead.

"If I fail to get this overturned, I'm turning in my license," Watkins boasted.

The members of the Stop DUI group, who have despised Watkins for many
years and turned out in force Friday in court, will surely attempt to
hold him to his word should he not prevail.

But Watkins' optimism is not without some merit. With its decision,
the jury sent the message that it did not believe Williams was under
the influence of drugs at the time of the accident. It opens the door
for a spirited argument on appeal, one which has been won in similar
cases taking place in other jurisdictions.

"She's not guilty of driving under the influence," Watkins said.
Jurors were able to distinguish between use and impairment. "I've
said from day one she wasn't impaired; she wasn't impaired, and a
jury found that she wasn't impaired."

But she was convicted of multiple felony DUI counts, according to the
state law of narcotics impairment, which mandates that any amount of
marijuana residue found in the bloodstream above 2 nanograms per
milliliter (hers was 5.5) is statutorily considered "under the
influence."

She's more likely to serve a lengthy prison sentence than to walk
free when she returns to court for sentencing March 30.

But she also has hope, something that was not lost on her parents.

Steve Williams, the defendant's father, lauded Watkins and the jury,
but took time to criticize the district attorney's office for what he
called its "negative publicity" in the case. He also acknowledged the
importance of the second jury.

"They were more a jury of her peers," he said.

He added that he has instructed Watkins to keep a "parallel file" of
the defense's investigation and findings to turn over to the victims'
families to assist in their civil case against Clark County, which
was responsible for putting the juvenile delinquent work crew on the
edge of the interstate.

Surely some of the victims' families will want Watkins sentenced to
five years for postconviction hyperbole. His chant that "God loves
Jessica Williams" is sure to churn the stomachs of those who are left
to ask whether that means that God did not love those innocent
victims who caught a death sentence on an afternoon in March.

In the end, the parents of the defendant reiterated their sadness and
regret over a case that has changed their lives forever. A tearful
Rosa Abbate, the defendant's mother, pledged to support the victims'
families in whatever way possible.

Added Steve Williams, "We can really identify with what the other
families are going through."

The big difference, of course, is that unlike the six victims, his
daughter now has a chance to get her life back.