Ex-Goodman juror loses appeal
DennisDeMartinwas at his assisted living apartment in New Haven, Conn., when he got the dreaded call Wednesday from his attorney in Palm Beach County.
The 72-year-old ailing retiree heard he might be forced back to jail after losing his appeal of juror misconduct charges arising from John Goodman’s first DUI manslaughter trial.
“I’m so upset,” DeMartin told the Sun Sentinel in a telephone interview, explaining heranout ofmoneyandwas forced to sell his Delray Beach condo andmove back north. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ll be 73 next month and I’m falling apart.”
In an eight-page opinion, the Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach cited“substantial” evidencethatsupportsthe criminal contempt convictions and punishment lodged two years ago against the beleaguered former juror.
Palm Beach County Chief Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath in early 2014 sentenced DeMartin to five months and 29 days in jail, ruling “DeMartin single-handedly derailed what was otherwise a lawful conviction” of Goodman inMarch 2012.
DeMartin served 36 days of his sentence before he was freed on a $7,500 appellate bond. The sentence allows for DeMartin to spend the final two months on house arrest.
It was one of the extremely rare cases in the nation where a juror’s actions resulted in jail time, but Colbath said hewanted to “send a message” to the community not to take jury service lightly.
Goodman, 52, stood trial for a second time in October2014andwas again found guilty of DUI manslaughter, and failure to render aid, in the Feb. 12, 2010 death of Scott Patrick Wilson, 23.
Denied bond while he appeals his conviction and 16-year prison term, Goodman now resides at one of Florida’s faith- and characterprisons, Wakulla Correctional Institution, south ofTallahassee.
What happens next to DeMartin is unclear. “I have no money to even come to Florida,” the former accountant said, adding: “I’m flabbergasted over this.”
DeMartin said his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Paul Petillo, told him there is a 15-day deadline to pursue some legal options. Wednesday’s opinion is not final pending a request for a rehearing. Along with his legal arguments, the lawyer previously argued DeMartin should not be jailed again because of his heart condition, dementia, poor finances, and the days he already spent locked up.
Denny DeMartin, the former juror’s son who lives in Fort Lauderdale, told the Sun Sentinel he’s worried his father is “ready to commit suicide over this.”
“In his entire life he never committed a crime, never even got a parking ticket, and nowthey’re putting him in jail,” the younger DeMartin said.
Attorneys for the state have blasted DeMartin for “wreaking havoc” on Palm Beach County’s courts, and have argued he must complete his sentence for the two misdemeanor crimes.
On the first criminal contempt charge, Judge Colbath ruled that DeMartin was “willfully deceitful” during jury selection when he was asked a question but didn’t disclose an ex-wife’sDUI arrest from1997.
On the second charge, the judge found DeMartin violated court rules when he conducted a secret vodka-drinking experiment at home before deliberating the Goodman verdict with five other jurors.
DeMartin wrote about both matters in self-published books, which Goodman’s then-attorneys brought to the court’s attention in their successful effort to toss Goodman’s initial conviction.