Janklow asks court to dismiss charges
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- Former congressman Bill Janklow, fresh from 100 days in jail, asked the South Dakota Supreme Court on Wednesday to overturn his convictions in a fatal traffic crash last summer.
His lawyers said in written arguments that Janklow did not get a fair trial because the judge allowed prejudicial evidence about his bad driving record. They also said that Janklow's diabetes was a factor in the accident.
Janklow was convicted in December of second-degree manslaughter and reckless driving in the August death of a motorcyclist at a rural intersection.
Janklow's lawyers want his convictions set aside and the charges dismissed, or for a new trial to be held. The attorney general's office has until July 7 to respond to the appeal.
Circuit Judge Rodney Steele ruined Janklow's chances of acquittal by allowing introduction of highly prejudicial evidence of Janklow's history of bad driving, his lawyers argue.