This past week, Q-line asked: Do you agree with the judge’s decision to keep Russell Weller’s statements private? If you were a juror, would it change how you looked at the case?
Here are your responses: ✆ “Mr. Weller’s and his wife’s statements should not be made public unless they were informed by the police that their statements would be recorded and made public. In the final analysis, this is a horrible personal injury and liability court case. The city of Santa Monica has a long history of not accepting responsibility when the city’s actions are irresponsive. The Twilight Dance Series held on the Santa Monica Pier, which I attend during the summer on Thursday nights, are a sight for an automobile catastrophe. People and automobiles mingle freely together as automobiles enter onto the pier parking lot. The entrance to the parking lot is only 10 feet from a crowd of thousands of people. The only thing separating the crowd and the automobiles are a few wooden sawhorses and yellow tape. One car veering to the west into the crowd would wreak havoc. As for Mr. Weller, even if criminal intent can be proven, my interest would be entirely with those who suffered a terrible loss to Mr. Weller’s and the city of Santa Monica’s actions. A large, fair, monetary settlement is in order. Also in my opinion, the open air vegetable market is still not safe due to no barriers as of yet being set in place.” ✆ “On the farmers’ market matter, the farmers’ market driver, who is 87 years old and could be suffering from Alzheimer’s or something else that we don’t know about, his statement that the judge deemed should be kept private. I’m sure that the prosecution, as well as the defense, has access to those statements, and if they felt that they shed any light on the accident, I’m sure they would have pressed for the release of those statements. The press is demanding that the statements be released, but the prosecution and the defense is not. Let’s wait and see how this plays out. I’m certain at one point those statements will be released to the press and to the public during the course of the trial.” ✆ “Regarding the judge’s decision on Mr. Weller’s thing: Having been on the receiving end of a lot of bad tragedies in my family, I think it’s OK. The truth does come out.” ✆ “The judge ordered that the rest of the report be made public. Why haven’t we seen another word about it in either the Daily Press or the LA Times?” ✆ “I’m thoroughly against the judge’s decision to keep Weller’s statement private. This man has not spoken a single word. He has not apologized to the victims. Weller has said nothing. So I think everything should be made public, and the public should know what has happened and what is going on.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 31, 2004. Read the original PDF.