EastBayDave
Needs a job
Posts: 2245
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posted May 30, 2003 01:57 PM
Final chapter to the Gary Kunich's death court case
Remember Gary Kunich? (the rider who got rear ended in the fog)
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:
Got off to a different start this time. The judge went through all of his
other 2:00 cases, then settled on doing the sentencing phase of the People
vs. Nicole Moore.
Short version:
60 days in county jail, 30 suspended, credit for one day served. (29 more
days in the county jail as a felon).
500k restitution for loss-of-wages compensation, pending defense filing
their objections within 30 days.
200 hours of community service, possibly with public service announcements
5 year felony probation.
Longer version:
Keep in mind that I probably missed some things. Part of me was
interested in the proceedings, the other part was taking notes. Some of
what was said by the judge had me wondering...
Things started at about 2:20. The D.A. had some comments regarding
sentencing, but first requested that the court receive notes from Gary's
son and Father. These were not read in open court, but reviewed by the
defense and the judge. (Note: In California, the victims are allowed to
"speak" at the sentencing phase, to present their view regarding what
consequences they have suffered due to the criminal act(s) of the
defendant. I don't know if any other state allows this...)
The DA requested no more than a 60 day sentence. Nicole had shown remorse
at the last hearing, when she entered her plea. The reason for the
sentence was there was a criminal act resulting in loss of life. Nicole
was passing traffic at a high rate of speed in the fog. This was a route
familiar to her, and the point close to where the accident happened is a
common choke point (goes from 2 lanes each way to 1 lane each way) for
traffic. It's not uncommon for traffic to be stopped there especially in
fog conditions. He also requested 200 hours of community service, which
he said Mrs. Kunich recommended public service announcements be done
regarding unsafe driving.
As Mrs.Kunich has no source of income, restitution was requested for 800k,
with Nicole's income being monitored for 3 years. (I may have missed a
bit, that being the terms of how it was to be paid out).
Gary's family got to speak. Gary's daughter read her mom's notes for her,
then Mrs. Kunich spoke for their granddaughter and their youngest
daughter...who could not appear and have to face Nicole in the court room.
She will not have her father give her away for her wedding. She doubts
she will travel much to the S.F. Bay Area because it reminds her of her
father.
There were other sad nesses expressed. I don't mean to minimize them, but
I'm sure everyone understands how a family can be so torn up by the loss,
especially when it's due to someone so negligent. Mrs. Kunich spoke of
some court appearances where she was convinced Nicole was not touched as
much as she should have been by her acts (laughing in court at times),
even to the point that while she didn't wish ill to Nicole, she strongly
doubted any sincere remorse was ever expressed. She hoped that the court
would assign a sentence of 1 year instead of the 60 days.
The judge then had his say. One of his jobs is to remove the emotion from
the proceedings. Tragedies happen, some more hurtful than this one,
including wrongful deaths with no criminal intent. People today are
driving and speeding. Driving and going too fast for the fog. People are
still doing this. Nicole's punishment would probably be a deterrent to
Nicole, but no one else. Further, savage people commit savage acts, far
more serious than this one. Without saying it, I understood him to mean
that the punishment needs to fit the situation. He needed to accommodate
all interests. He had no doubt that Gary Kunich was a fine person.
He then laid out the sentence. 60 days, 30 suspended, credit for 1 day
already served. Restitution amount was based on speculative earnings, but
said 500k was what he intended to submit. D.A. was ok with that, but the
defense attorney wished to file his objections to that amount, and has 30
days to submit his objections. Nicole also would serve 200 hours of
community service, including public service announcements. The judge
stated that normally he wouldn't allow felons to speak publicly, but that
Nicole should be someone trustworthy for this. Five years probation. All
of this under the monitoring of the probation dept. of Alameda County.
Travel restrictions imposed, search without warrant(s), etc, loss of
personal freedoms that go with a felony conviction.
The defense attorney didn't want any restitution in the sentence until the
civil matter was settled. Judge wasn't interested in waiting for that, so
30 days for the objection to the 500K to be filed is it. Restitution
review is scheduled for August 29th at 9:00 AM Dept. 515
Oh. Nicole is also to take a drivers improvement course.
With that, the judge got up and disappeared. The rest of us filed out
accordingly.
There you have it. That's all your life is worth if it was you that got run over and killed. 30 days in jail and not even enough money for your wife or kids after your gone because this lady was not only speeding in the fog but DRIVING ON THE DAMN SHOULDER AT THE SAME TIME TOO. That's not an accident IMO. That's taking the situation entirely under the control yourself.
So she walks away basically. So sad.
____________
Enjoy the ride!
02' ZRX1200
00' ZX12R sold
  
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redelk
Moderator
Please... speak to the hand.
Posts: 3212
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posted May 30, 2003 03:58 PM
Just some of the things that make my skin crawl:
1. As Mrs.Kunich has no source of income...
This might be true as she personally might not have a job. This raises the question as to who owned the "8,000 pound Dodge pick-up"? Seeing as how my '03 2500 HD Quad Cab with a 8' bed barely tips the scales at 7,000 pounds (curb wt - 6221 lbs.), I can only assume that this "8,000 pound pick up" was a fully loaded 3500. A new truck like that would have a MSRP of over $45K!
SOMEONE has a "source of income". It doesn't matter if the truck is "family" or company" owned. They are responsible for allowing her to operate that vehicle and thus they should equally share in the consequences, as well as the responsibilities of restitution. If she is a "housewife", that "house" she is "wife'ing" in has some source of income. Since she is living off of that income that pays mortgage notes, utility bills and buys the food she eats, it is that very same income that the restitution should come from. Payments should start arriving in the Kunich family's account (via direct deposit) no later than July 1st.
2. 500k restitution for loss-of-wages compensation
At the age of 54, are we assuming that Mr. Kunich was going to retire early or at age 65? Was his potential earning (with annual COLA increases figured in) a mere $45,500 a year? What if he chose to work until he was 70? Would be less then $32,000 a year? Being the owner of a BMW, no matter how old of a model, I doubt if he was just an old Bohemian or an elderly "Manard G. Krebs" beatnik. Did he have some sort of medical malady the his existence on this planet would be less then 10 years? To say his "earning potential" for the balance of his life would be $500K, including adjustment for inflation and such, is tragically laughable.
After 3 years of "monitoring her income", will the courts just tell the Kunich family, "Tough shit"? No wonder the family is pursuing it in a civil court. They sure as Hell can't count on the criminal court to ensure the punishment is executed properly and judiciously.
3. 60 days in county jail, 30 suspended, credit for one day served. (29 more days in the county jail as a felon) with 5 year felony probation.
This is not a case of vehicular manslaughter. Even under the most sympathetic of lights is negligent homicide. The keyword being HOMICIDE! Her conduct prior to impact is just this side of premeditated. If I was to walk into a church with a AK47, hold the rifle to my hip and empty the clip, would it be "just an accident" if I was to kill someone? After all, I wasn't "aiming" at anyone, right? I see little difference in pointing an 8,000 lbs projectile at 60 MPH in to fog shrouded section of road, knowing that the road went from four lanes to two.
Her conduct after the impact furthers the believe that this is a case of murder, not manslaughter. As if she was not aware of what her vehicle might have hit and was more concerned with getting paperwork out of her vehicle then calling 911 or investigating what she might have hit. If she has no source of income, what "paperwork" could be so important as to be more concerned with it's recovery then insuring that no one else was injured? Her registration and insurance papers?
I could rant all day and well into the night on this, but I think that just these few points show how if one chooses to travel on half as many wheels, you are only worth half as much. It makes me wonder what the outcome would have been if she had plowed into a school bus full of eight year olds and someone's little girl had perished. I don't think the outcome would have been quite the same, do you?
____________
There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.
-Ernest Hemingway
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bigju
Expert Class
Posts: 238
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posted May 30, 2003 04:39 PM
Sherman, as most of you know I'm a Police officer. My main thing with this and matters of this nature. Is simply, no amount of money can replace the husband and the father lost in this incident. There are some people that are truly remorseful forthier actions. Most are not, in my professional opinion its an act so the Judge will go light. Personally I feel like she should serve time for manslaughter. As this appears to be a avoidable incident. Crimes like this and most others are bright examples that our judicial system need a overhaul. Its so bad in Chicago our county is known as "crook" county not Cook county. Hopefully the family will move forward from this. I wish them the best.
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redelk
Moderator
Please... speak to the hand.
Posts: 3212
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posted May 30, 2003 04:54 PM
 Edited By: redelk on 30 May 2003 18:00
I just went to my state circuit court jury duty orientation. Over the next six months, I will be required to make at least 8 appearances for roll call. It doesn't matter if I am selected to serve or not, if I make a roll call, it will count as an apppearance.
I know that if I were to be a possible juror on such a case as this, I'd never make it past the voir dire. Even if I was to "survive" the voir dire, they'd toss me out so quick with a peremptory challange or challanged for cause, it make your head spin.
I could see it now, I'd be challanged for cause because I ride a motorcycle and the judge would actually agree and excuse me because I would have some form of "interest or bias" when it comes to bikes.
What sucks is that I would likely be more "qualified" to sit on such a jury then any "non-rider" would.
____________
There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.
-Ernest Hemingway
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worm~hole
Needs a life
Miles to go before I sleep....
Posts: 10623
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posted May 31, 2003 05:41 PM
quote:
I could rant all day and well into the night on this, but I think that just these few points show how if one chooses to travel on half as many wheels, you are only worth half as much. It makes me wonder what the outcome would have been if she had plowed into a school bus full of eight year olds and someone's little girl had perished. I don't think the outcome would have been quite the same, do you?
...makes you wonder:What if that Gary was related to some hi-profile politico?....or was a friend of the courts?...what if Gary was a hi-profiler himself?....the squeeky wheel gets the grease and we can almost assume that Nicole's sentence would've been harsher...'without emotion' or not, the judicial system needs a tremendous overhaul...
...the bottom line, in my opinion, is that victim's and suspect's social and economic status should be left out of the equation and punishment should fit the crime...one was living his life and minding his own business...the other maliciously and wantonly broke the law and took the other's life...she's lucky I'm not the judge...
...my heart-felt condolences and best wishes to his family... 
____________
“We sleep safe in our beds because rough men
stand ready in the night to visit violence on those
who would do us harm.”
-George Orwell
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slug
Pro
Out in search of my mind...
Posts: 1433
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posted May 31, 2003 07:09 PM
"she showed remorse at the previous hearing"
but at no others if we believe the reports given
i don't know about you, but had i just hit another vehicle inthe fog doing something stupid, i would be sick to my stomache on the spot
were i to learn that i had killed someone, i would be incoherent.
a choice *I* made, taking someone else out who had no say in it.
even the thought of that makes me ill.
just the accident alone, my hands would be shaking too badly to consider trying to root rhrough my car for something. much less walk away from it without even caring there wa someone underneath
i have been rearended once in my life, when i was in high school. i was mad, it wasn't like a ford pinto has that great of brakes to start with, and sorta WAS scared it was gonna blow (heh heh)
but, all thoughts of that disappeared seeing the other car was demolished, driver and passenger bloodied up (no belts) was more important than the damage done.
not even my fault, i felt bad all the same that someone was bleeding all over the palce
anyway i cannot imagine something *I* did causing something like that, or worse.
perhaps i am just mistaken on what i consider remorse....
heronly object at the first few hearings, no jail time was all she cared about
oh, as for the driver's improvement course, she shouldn't need one.
in my opinion, she should NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER be allowed to drive EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER again. NEVER.
same goes for people that are DUI/DWI, and causes crash.
  
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