Friday, August 08, 2003<br /><br />By PETER HALL <br />The Express-Times <br /><br />FLEMINGTON -- Jayson Williams' attorneys won an argument crucial to their defense strategy Thursday when a judge ordered a gun company to provide information on accidental discharges of its weapons. <br /><br />State Superior Court Judge Edward M. Coleman also granted a request to allow Williams' attorneys to challenge the credibility of an expert witness for the state who would testify on the amount of alcohol in Williams' system at the time of the shooting. <br /><br /> <br /> <br />But during the same daylong hearing on Williams' pretrial motions, Coleman denied a request to dismiss manslaughter charges against the former NBA star. <br /><br />Williams' attorneys Joseph Hayden Jr. and Billy Martin said they are disappointed about losing their bid to have the indictment against him dismissed, but glad about the other rulings. <br /><br />"Today's rulings are a significant step in the search for the truth that will prove Mr. Williams' innocence," Martin said. <br /><br />Thursday's hearing was the second in a series of oral argument sessions as the Williams trial in the shotgun shooting death of 55-year-old Costas "Gus" Christofi moves toward its Jan. 12 start date. <br /><br />At least two more hearings are planned in September to decide on Williams' motions to hold the trial in another county and to examine state police employment records for evidence of racial profiling. <br /><br />Williams, 35, was allegedly showing off with the shotgun to a group of friends visiting his Alexandria Township mansion when Christofi died Feb. 14, 2002. <br /><br />Hayden argued Thursday that records from the Browning Arms Co. on accidental discharges will prove Williams didn't intend to fire at Christofi. <br /><br />He asked Coleman to issue a subpoena to the Utah-based company, ordering it to research the issue and send a representative to testify at Williams' trial. <br /><br />Hayden said Williams doesn't dispute that he was holding the shotgun when it fired and struck Christofi in the chest. <br /><br />The chief question is whether the gun fired because Williams pulled the trigger or because of a defect in the gun, Hayden said. <br /><br />Hayden contends the breach-loading 12-gauge shotgun fired by itself when Williams snapped it closed. He said there are at least four cases where gun manufacturers were sued for similar incidents. <br /><br />An examination of Williams' Browning Citori over-under shotgun showed the firing mechanism was contaminated with dust and wood chips and had wear that could cause an unintended discharge. <br /><br />However, Hunterdon County First Assistant Prosecutor Steven Lember said a ballistics expert was unable to make the gun fire by snapping it closed. <br /><br />"Nobody snapped the gun with the force of Mr. Williams, who is one of the strongest people in basketball," Hayden replied. <br /><br />Lember argued Coleman's order should limit the company's research to information on the Browning Citori shotgun -- the model involved in the shooting incident. <br /><br />Coleman agreed to issue the subpoena but allowed it to include all Browning shotgun models. He also said Williams will be required to pay for the company's research and added that Browning will likely fight the order. <br /><br />Martin argued for the dismissal of charges against Williams. They include aggravated and reckless manslaughter, witness and evidence tampering, unlawful weapons possession and aggravated assault and carry a maximum prison sentence of 45 years. <br /><br />Williams' attorneys tried once before to have an earlier indictment against the former NBA player dismissed. Coleman denied their motion in December, but Williams' attorneys appealed. <br /><br />The prosecution obtained a new indictment in March, heading off an Appellate Division hearing on the initial indictment. <br /><br />Martin argued Thursday that the state's presentation to the second grand jury was shoddy because prosecutors were in a rush to get a new indictment before the Appellate Division hearing. <br /><br />Martin criticized Lember for completing the grand jury presentation in a single day, using only the testimony of two detectives. <br /><br />"That might be the case in easy street crime cases. This is not a drug case. This is not something you can do in five or six hours," Martin said. <br /><br />Coleman denied the motion, saying that the defense had not shown evidence that the indictment is flawed. <br /><br />Hayden argued for a chance to discredit the state's expert witness on intoxication. <br /><br />The prosecution says Williams' blood alcohol content at the time of the shooting was about 0.22 percent, more than twice the legal limit for a driver in New Jersey. <br /><br />However, that estimate is based on a blood sample taken nearly eight hours after the shooting, when Williams' blood alcohol content was .11 percent. <br /><br />The prosecution plans to present the testimony of an expert who will explain how the estimate was reached by a process called "retrograde extrapolation." <br /><br />Hayden argued that a hearing is needed to determine whether the expert's testimony is admissible during the trial. <br /><br />He said experts for the defense say retrograde extrapolation is "speculative, unscientific and inherently unreliable." Hayden also said determining Williams' blood alcohol content at the time of the shooting is likely impossible because Williams consumed alcohol after the accident. <br /><br />Coleman scheduled a hearing Oct. 6. <br /><br />Lember said he may abandon that aspect of his case because the hearing will present an additional cost to the state. He said proving that Williams was drunk at the time of the shooting is not crucial to his case. <br /><br />What ever happen to responcible gun ownership. 
Like showing an UNLOADED firearm. And alway treating a weapon as if it where loaded.
Like showing an UNLOADED firearm. And alway treating a weapon as if it where loaded.
