Douglas County judge charged with manslaughter
By AP
MINDEN — A Nevada judge has been charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in the August death of a bicyclist.
A criminal complaint filed Friday says Douglas County District Judge Michael Gibbons failed to exercise due care when passing bicyclist Joseph Longo, 61, of Gardnerville.
Michael Gibbons
Longo and Gibbons were westbound on Pinenut Road on Aug. 20, and Gibbons was making a right turn onto East Valley Road when the rear of his vehicle struck the bike, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol. Longo was not wearing a helmet.
The NHP’s investigation concluded the collision was a result of simple negligence, and there were no aggravating circumstances or egregious conduct involved.
Gibbons attorney David Houston issued a statement questioning District Attorney Mark Jackson’s handling of the case.
“We are surprised and disappointed that the local district attorney has decided to file charges,” Houston said in the statement. “We thought the case should be handled by a prosecutor from outside of Douglas County. We believe that this case is more properly resolved in a civil court because our accident reconstruction has shown that Judge Gibbons did not hit the bicyclist. This is a tragic incident for all.”
If convicted, Gibbons faces up to a $1,000 fine, a one-year suspension of his driver’s license and six months in jail.
Gibbons, a former chief deputy district attorney, was first elected to the bench in 1994 and re-elected in 1996, 2002 and 2008.
He’s scheduled to make an initial appearance in East Fork Township Justice Court on Jan. 13.
These judges are supposed to presume the accused is innocent until proven guilty. These judges however don’t abide by that presumption rule, and presume guilt instead. It’s unfortunate that a bicyclist died. I find it amusing that Gibbons will now have a taste of his own policy.
I now know who the best criminal attorney in the area is. Mr. Houston.
Also is the DA saying Judge Gibbons cut off Mr. Longo when making his right turn?
I find the whole thing a horrible accident. I’m sadden over the loss of life and for the treatment the judge is receiving as he has served our community well over the many years.
If Joe Longo were wearing a helmet it is very likely he would be alive and well today. So sad.
NHP: “when the rear of his vehicle struck the bike, ”
Lawyer: “our accident reconstruction has shown that Judge Gibbons did not hit the bicyclist. ”
duh? surely his lawyer cant be saying you hit the bike vs the bicyclist and that moots criminal liability??
Suspicious Mind appears to have the correct interpretation of what happened. I’ve had a right turning auto do the same to me, and I had to slam on my brakes when a right turning auto turned into my path. To understand what may have happened you have to consider a car passing a bike rider, then turning right immediately afterward. If this collision happened as Suspicious Minds, and myself suspect, Gibbons was at fault.
It is horrible that someone died, but this was an accident. Next thing you know they will be procecuting people for every auto accident everytime there is any bodily injury. Could the DA have an agenda, because he is a judge, or an ax to grind? Sounds odd, esp since the NHP found no fault
There is another possibility. Judge Gibbons could have been in the right. Gibbons may have passed, and allowed a reasonable distance to widen between himself and the bike rider he passed. Then if Gibbons signaled for his right turn, then turned right, and the bike rider crashed into the rear of Gibbons car, Gibbons is not at fault. There are two real possibilities here. One possibility is that Judge Gibbons cut off the path of the bike rider. The other possibility is that the bike rider failed to brake for the right turning vehicle in front of him. The determining factor should be the point where (exactly) the bike struck Gibbons car. If the bike struck the right side of the car, this indicates that Gibbons cut off the bike rider. If the bike struck the rear bumper, (indicating Gibbons was in front of the bike before beginning his right turn), Gibbons may be cleared. The physical evidence should play an important part in this case.
Reloman . You make a good point. We can’t have people prosecuted criminally whenever traffic accidents occur. Did you know that Mark Jackson (the prosecutor) cannot be touched by civil law if this prosecution is a malicious prosecution. The prosecutors used to be exposed to civil suits under malicious prosecution law. But that has changed. These prosecutors now get immunity from any civil prosecution no matter what their agenda. They cannot even be civilly prosecuted if they suborn perjury. This immunity has led the way for more malicious prosecutions.
To remove any political potentials this case should indeed have gone to the State Attorney’s office. The issue as both were traveling in the same direction, could very well be a distracted driving case and/or at the same time a distracted bike rider. I am also going to assume there were no outside witnesses so the physical evidence alone and reconstruction of the event will be key. It does seem strange this is being charged as a crime as opposed to a civil case.