Defense Begins In Stinson Case

((HT: Fox 41/WDRB))

Judge Susan Schultz Gibson on Tuesday denied a request to dismiss charges against Jason Stinson. That's when the defense started presenting its case. The former coach is charged with reckless homicide and wanton endangerment in player Max Gilpin's death.

Five teenagers were the opening witnesses for the defense. One said Gilpin complained of feeling ill before practice and as players helped him off the field after he collapsed.

"He just kept repeating he didn't feel good," the teen said. He helped Gilpin off the field. "Then, he just stopped." Another teen said Gilpin complained of feeling ill at lunchtime and after school. "He wasn't really talking as much as he usually does," the teen said. "I asked him what was wrong. He said he didn't feel good."

The four players who testified Tuesday also said Stinson never denied players water and didn't berate them as they ran. Other witnesses have said Stinson called players cowards and threatened to run players until someone quit the team.

Prosecutors said Stinson ran players to excess as punishment. Stinson's defense says the practice wasn't unusually hard.

Dr. Dan Danzl, Chairman of Emergency Medicine at the University of Louisville, testified that Gilpin likely died from what's known as an exertional heatstroke -- common in young people.

Stephan Johnson got to stand outside the courthouse for his live shot again...

Stinson Trial Has Opening Statements

"Barbaric" or "nonsense..."
Take your pick... those are the two points-of-view in the first day of the Jason Stinson case arguments...
((Stinson's wife, Monica-pictured, was in the media room, thanks Matt Stone/Courier-Journal))

Jason Riley of the Louisville Courier-Journal gets to sit through this one...

Commonwealth attorney Leland Hulbert:
“When he took his last steps on the field, Max was still doing what Coach told him to do — running... He ignored him, never got within 10 feet of him.”

Defense attorney Brian Butler:
“It was the most exaggerated account of this you will ever hear,” he told jurors, calling the prosecution of Stinson a “runaway” train that has been mishandled from the beginning, spurred in large part by exaggerated media reports and overeager prosecutors. “This has been nothing but a witch hunt by these people,” Butler said, pointing at the prosecution’s table.

Fox41's Stephon Johnson was in the courtroom and tackled the idea of the jury pool- composed of 5 women and ten men...

Catch live coverage of the trial here, thanks to the Louisville Courier-Journal
Here's the 911 call to Louisville EMS

Stinson Trial Not Postponed, Jury Selection Continues

((HT: Fox 41/Turner))

Judge Susan Schultz Gibson dismissed eight potential jurors and left a pool of 100 to return Wednesday.

She denied a continuance and changed her mind about banning journalists and the public from the crowded courtroom during jury selection.

Jury selection is slow, in the midst of more arguments about what jurors and the public can see and hear.

Since January, Jason Stinson's ((pictured, thanks Louisville Courier-Journal file))friends raised more than $90,000 from supporters to pay for attorneys Alex Dathorne, Brian Butler and other legal work.

"You stop and think about someone who makes less than $50,000 a year, and they're facing at a six-figure defense bill, that can be intimidating in itself. That's why people end up taking deals," said Rodney Daugherty, Stinson friend.

There are no deals for Stinson, who wants a trial.

He is believed to be the first high school coach in the country charged criminally for the death of a player.

In court, Judge Susan Schultz Gibson removed reporters from the jury selection briefly Tuesday morning. She cited fire codes, a full room of potential jurors, and worries about their privacy.

"I'm not sure there's anybody in Jefferson County that doesn't have an opinion on this case. And a lot of them are quite strong. I believe that puts an awful lot of pressure on jurors to come in here and divulge things about themselves and opinions that could be quoted to their neighbors, anything like that. I have a great concern about that," said Schultz Gibson, Circuit Judge Div. 12.

Schultz Gibson changed her mind on the issue after a Courier-Journal attorney argued any ban on the press and public violated Kentucky law.

Stinson's attorneys objected when prosecutors asked the judge to delay the trial.

"He (Stinson) wants to go to trial. He wanted to go to trial yesterday (Monday), when we started," said Stinson attorney Brian Butler.

Prosecutor Jon Heck asked the judge for a continuance to delay the trial.

"Better to do it right, than to do it quick," Heck said.

Heck told the judge the commonwealth needed more time to study 1500 pages of documents made available in the case late last week.

"The time frame here for a case of this magnitude is such that we would be best served for allowing more time for the experts to look at this stuff, rather than going forward on a case just over seven months after indictment," Heck said.

His motion came a day after the judge ruled those records inadmissible as evidence. Heck told reporters Monday the commonwealth was ready to go to trial, within the limitations imposed by the judge's ruling.

The judge said no to any continuance. She will allow reporters and the public to watch jury selection starting Wednesday morning, as long as there is room in the courtroom to safely seat them.

Schultz Gibson ordered that journalists covering the jury selection not identify or show the faces of potential jurors in photos or video. (Louisville media have a long-standing tradition of not identifying jurors or potential jurors during trials.)

"The press is, in this case, the eyes and the ears of the public. And the public has an immense interest in seeing how justice is dispensed," said Courier-Journal attorney Jon Fleischaker.

Here's today's update from our friends at WDRB/Fox 41
Stefon Johnson got to stand in front of the courthouse downtown...

Judge Throws Out 1500 Pages Of Evidence In Stinson Trial

((HT: Louisville Courier-Journal/Riley))

Judge Susan Schultz Gibson ruled Monday that medical records, statements, training records of Stinson and personnel files of him and other PRP coaches turned over to the defense since Wednesday “came too late” and can not be used in Stinson’s trial, where jury selection begins Tuesday.

However, if any of the recently filed evidence is relevant to Stinson’s defense, his attorneys can present it and prosecutors then would be allowed to rebut that testimony with information in the newly filed documents.

Gibson also ruled that any other evidence that comes in while the trial is going on —prosecutors said they are still interviewing witnesses — will not be allowed.

Earlier Monday, Gibson ruled that prosecutors violated court procedure by failing to provide information from their March meeting with a medical expert to defense attorneys ((Dr. William Smock is pictured, thanks Louisville Courier-Journal/Mike Heyman)).

But Gibson declined to dismiss either the wanton endangerment or reckless homicide charge against Stinson, as defense attorneys had requested.

“I don't think a drastic sanction is warranted in this case,” said Gibson, who did not issue any penalties against the prosecution.

Fox 41's Bennett Haeberle is outside the courthouse with details on jury selection ((HT: Fox 41/Louisville))

Stinson Pleads Not Guilty To Reissued Endangerment Charge

((HT: Louisville Courier-Journal/Yetter))

Jason Stinson ((pictured, thanks Louisville Courier-Journal file)), former coach at Pleasure Ridge Park High School, was indicted Tuesday in connection with a player's death just a few hours after his lawyers unsuccessfully argued the August grand jury shouldn't hear the case a second time.

Jefferson Circuit Judge Susan Schultz Gibson dismissed the initial charge Friday after Stinson's lawyers argued prosecutors failed to let grand jurors know the coach wanted to testify about the death of former player Max Gilpin last year. Prosecutors said they would take the charge back to the same grand jury to reconsider and inform members that they could ask to hear from Stinson.

But defense lawyers objected, saying the grand jury is biased because it already had decided the case.

Jefferson Circuit Judge Geoffrey Morris, who oversees the grand jury, on Tuesday rejected that argument. He said current grand jurors could hear from Stinson if they wish about the charge related to the Aug. 23, 2008, death of Max, a 15-year-old lineman on the Pleasure Ridge Park High School football team.

Alex Dathorne, a lawyer for Stinson, argued the case should be presented to the next grand jury to be seated in September. But that would delay Stinson's trial, set for Aug. 31, and Morris said prosecutors can simply inform the current grand jury members they could ask to hear from Stinson and reconsider their decision.Dathorne said Stinson was not asked to testify Tuesday by the grand jury.

Dick Irby has the details from downtown court...
Thanks to our friends at Fox41/WDRB-TV in Louisville


Those of us at OSG HQ think the two charges, much to the angst and anger of the defense, will be rolled over into one trial.

And that Stinson is in a world of trouble...

We've long maintained that this particular case will serve as a bell-weather for all high school football coaches across the country. While we maintain what Stinson did as a coach can be classified as "just football," we're not in "just America" anymore.

The overly-litigious nature of society today will make sure that a lot of the personality of sports is taken out of it. Under no circumstance or variable do we condone the death of a young man.

Never, never, never, never, never...

Yes, coaches should be careful. But, at the same time, there's a diffferent element to sports. It's always been used to build young men into older men who can understand responsibility, courage, fight, and all the other benefits that go along.

If Stinson is found guilty in this case, that balance will get tipped severely...

Second Stinson Indictment Dismissed For Now

The case of the Commonwealth of Kentucky versus former Pleasure Ridge Park ((Louisville)) High School head football coach Jason Stinson ((pictured, thanks Pam Spaulding, Louisville Courier-Journal)) has taken a few interesting turns.

Jason Riley has been working the ups-and-downs for the Louisville Courier-Journal.

There were two charges pending against Stinson. For the time being, that number was cut in half as da judge knocked the wanton endangerment charge off the books.

From Riley:

Judge Susan Schultz Gibson agreed with Stinson's attorneys that prosecutors improperly failed to tell the grand jurors who indicted Stinson that the coach wanted to testify before them.

The Jefferson Commonwealth's Attorney's Office immediately told Gibson that they would seek to re-indict Stinson next week, this time asking jurors if they would like to hear from the former coach.

But prosecutors may have won a bigger battle Friday when Gibson said she would allow testimony that contends that players were denied water and ran more than normal when Stinson's trial on a reckless-homicide charge begins Aug. 31.

Prosecutors disclosed late in the week that they're bringing in Dr. Doug Casa, UConn's Director of Athletic Training Education, as one of their expert witnesses for the case. Casa will maintain that Stinson created an environment at PRP that gave Max Gilpin the impression he couldn't stop running even if his medical condition warranted treatment.

Basically, the notion that pressure from a superior would place Gilpin's job and status in jeopardy within the PRP football program.

Judge Gibson reminded the Commonwealth that they're going to have to prove that Stinson's actions led directly to Gilpin's death.

Chris Turner was in the courtroom, thanks to our friends at Fox 41 in Louisville...
((HT: WDRB-TV/Fox41))


The Courier-Journal's complete coverage is in black... it's required reading for anyone before the trial starts on the 31st.

Stinson Attorneys Want Certain Testimony Blocked

((HT: Louisville Courier-Journal/Riley))

Attorneys for former Pleasure Ridge Park football coach Jason Stinson ((pictured, thanks SI.com file)) want a judge to keep out testimony from his trial that players were denied water or ran more than normal at a practice last year where sophomore lineman Max Gilpin collapsed and later died, saying the allegations are not relevant to the teen's death.

In a motion filed Wednesday, defense attorneys Alex Dathorne and Brian Butler claim the Jefferson Commonwealth's Attorney's Office doesn't have a medical expert opinion stating that water deprivation or excessive running at the Aug. 20, 2008, practice caused Max's death.

“Unbelievably, the Commonwealth did not consult with a medical expert, including the Kentucky Medical Examiner's Office, prior to indicting Jason Stinson,” Dathorne and Butler wrote in a motion to Circuit Judge Susan Schultz Gibson, adding that investigators also didn't get an autopsy to prove how the teen died.

Stinson is scheduled to stand trial Aug. 31 on a charge of reckless homicide in Max's death.

Defense attorneys contend that statements from several players and witnesses claiming Stinson denied players water and punished them by making them run more than usual should be excluded because it does not prove how Max died and would only be used by the prosecution “to paint Mr. Stinson in a poor light” and anger jurors.

“Otherwise, the trial becomes much like the investigation and indictment; a witch hunt based upon pure speculation,” the motion says.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jon Heck said prosecutors had not received the motion and will respond “fully” in court proceedings.

If Gibson agrees with the defense, the decision would undermine the prosecution's case against Stinson.

Prosecutors say Stinson repeatedly denied players water at the Aug. 20 practice when the heat index reached 94, despite receiving extensive training in the dangers of heat-related illnesses, and he forced them to run extra wind sprints as punishment for not practicing hard enough.

Max and another player collapsed at the practice. The second player, a senior, also was hospitalized but was released soon after.

After Max died Aug. 23 at Kosair Children's Hospital, the Jefferson County coroner's office said his body temperature had reached 107 degrees and that he died of complications of heat stroke.

Prosecutors have produced dozens of witnesses — members of the team, parents and spectators — who have said Stinson denied players water and made them run gassers, or wind sprints, until someone quit the team.

Defense attorneys say Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Stengel told the grand jury investigating Stinson, “I think that depriving them of water was part of the punishment also.”

But the defense alleges the grand jury never heard any medical conclusion as to how Max died and that prosecutors haven't linked any of those allegations to Max's death with any expert opinion.

“This trial is not about whether or not one prefers Mr. Stinson's coaching style; it is about whether he recklessly caused Max Gilpin's death,” Stinson's attorneys wrote.

Under state law, the cause of death must be proven at trial by medical testimony unless it is obvious to “any layman of average intelligence,” the defense argues.

In the Stinson case, prosecutors have not provided an expert to say how Max died. Nor is it obvious that the number of water breaks or amount of running at the practice caused Max's death, according to the motion.

“The potential causes of Max Gilpin's death are medically complicated and beyond the knowledge and experience of any layman of average intelligence,” Dathorne and Butler wrote.

Defense attorneys have lined up several medical experts who will testify that Max was not dehydrated and excessive running did not cause the teen's death.

For example, Dr. William Smock, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Louisville who reviewed Max's medical records at The Courier-Journal's request, will testify that Max died from “exertional heat stroke which was not associated with water deficiency,” they say.

And Dr. George Nichols, Kentucky's former chief medical examiner and an expert witness for Stinson, also will testify that Max did not die because coaches denied him water, they say. Nichols and Smock have said that Adderall, which Max was taking for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, most likely triggered the heat stroke.

However, an expert retained by Max's parents, has said that the evidence shows Max's death was caused by excessive strenuous exercise in hot weather.

Dr. George Rodgers, a professor in UofL's department of pediatrics and its department of pharmacology and toxicology, told The Courier-Journal in March that Max's initially low urine output when he was taken to the hospital is one of several factors suggesting he may have been dehydrated.

And he said the link to Adderall is “tenuous.” While there have been reports of heat-stroke deaths caused by amphetamines, he said, they occurred in people taking excessive amounts, for weight control or other reasons.

At least two other players have told prosecutors they were also taking Adderall at the time of the practice, according to recently released summaries of interviews with players. Another said he had been on Adderall while playing football in previous years but not during the 2008 season.

Also, defense attorneys acknowledge in their motion that the prosecution has at least one other witness who will testify that the lack of water may have been a factor in Max's death. Dr. Larry Shoemaker will testify that Max may have been “mildly dehydrated,” according to court records.

Asked about Rodgers and Shoemaker, Butler declined to comment. But their motion claims Shoemaker found that it is “unlikely this degree of dehydration alone explains” Max's death.