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Appellate panel hears arguments over denial of judicial diversion for driver in I-40 fatal crash
Summary
At an appellate hearing, attorneys for the defendant and the state disputed whether the trial court properly weighed statutory factors before denying judicial diversion to a motorist who pleaded to criminally negligent homicide after a Sept. 4, 2021 crash that killed a motorcyclist.
Scott Jones, attorney for the appellant, told an appellate panel that the trial court failed to weigh the full set of factors required for judicial diversion when it denied his client, referred to in the record as Miss Hodge, the relief. The underlying crash occurred Sept. 4, 2021, at about 3:40 a.m.; vehicle crash data in the record shows the defendant was driving about 101 miles per hour in a 65-mile-per-hour zone and a motorcyclist was killed.
Jones said the defense submitted a sentencing memorandum documenting Hodge’s lack of prior criminal history, post-incident participation in Mothers Against Drunk Driving-related activities, volunteer work with Second Harvest Food Bank and psychological evaluation materials. Jones argued the trial…
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