08-20-2009, 04:31 AM
http://www2.hernandotoday.com/content/2009/aug/19/attorney-bierwiler-suit-erodes-criminal-case/news/
Andrew Morris and his parents are confused.
A criminal case against Morris, 17, states he didn't have permission to drive his mother's SUV when he crashed and killed sheriff's Capt. Scott Bierwiler. Without a grand theft auto charge against Morris, there wouldn't be a third-degree murder charge.
But a civil case against Morris and his parents, filed by Bierwiler's widow on Friday, undermines that logic, says attorney Robert Whittel.
Whittel, who is representing Morris in his criminal case, interprets the civil case to mean that Morris had permission to drive the SUV. That nullifies a stolen vehicle complaint, he said.
"I don't believe you can have it both ways," Whittel said Wednesday. "You can't have it (permissible) in one courtroom and not the other."
The attorney representing the Bierwilers, Keith Taylor of Lecanto, was out of the office Wednesday and did not return a message.
On Feb. 19, around 5:45 a.m., Bierwiler was on his way to work early in his unmarked Crown Victoria. Morris was westbound on Powell Road in his mother's Mitsubishi Montero when he crossed the center line and smashed into Bierwiler's car, just east of the Barclay Avenue intersection, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.
At the moment of the crash, Morris' mother, Angela Lyle, was filing a stolen vehicle report with a deputy because the SUV was missing.
Five months after the crash, Morris was arrested on charges of third-degree murder and grand theft auto. Because Morris was supposedly committing a felony at the time of the fatal crash, it elevated the driving charge to third-degree murder, according to Assistant State Attorney Pete Magrino.
The civil suit alleges that Morris and his parents were negligent on five counts. It states that Morris had a propensity for reckless driving and endangering the lives of other drivers. Angela Lyle and her husband, George, are liable for the crash because they had a duty to teach their son how to drive properly, according to the lawsuit.
It also states that the Lyles are responsible for their son's whereabouts between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Whittel can't explain the legal reasoning behind filing a civil suit before the criminal case is resolved, but "it buttresses our case," he said.
That's still small consolation, though, because the conflicting accounts are creating confusion for his clients.
"This is a very, very difficult time for them," he said. "They're under tremendous pressure."
Andrew Morris and his parents are confused.
A criminal case against Morris, 17, states he didn't have permission to drive his mother's SUV when he crashed and killed sheriff's Capt. Scott Bierwiler. Without a grand theft auto charge against Morris, there wouldn't be a third-degree murder charge.
But a civil case against Morris and his parents, filed by Bierwiler's widow on Friday, undermines that logic, says attorney Robert Whittel.
Whittel, who is representing Morris in his criminal case, interprets the civil case to mean that Morris had permission to drive the SUV. That nullifies a stolen vehicle complaint, he said.
"I don't believe you can have it both ways," Whittel said Wednesday. "You can't have it (permissible) in one courtroom and not the other."
The attorney representing the Bierwilers, Keith Taylor of Lecanto, was out of the office Wednesday and did not return a message.
On Feb. 19, around 5:45 a.m., Bierwiler was on his way to work early in his unmarked Crown Victoria. Morris was westbound on Powell Road in his mother's Mitsubishi Montero when he crossed the center line and smashed into Bierwiler's car, just east of the Barclay Avenue intersection, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.
At the moment of the crash, Morris' mother, Angela Lyle, was filing a stolen vehicle report with a deputy because the SUV was missing.
Five months after the crash, Morris was arrested on charges of third-degree murder and grand theft auto. Because Morris was supposedly committing a felony at the time of the fatal crash, it elevated the driving charge to third-degree murder, according to Assistant State Attorney Pete Magrino.
The civil suit alleges that Morris and his parents were negligent on five counts. It states that Morris had a propensity for reckless driving and endangering the lives of other drivers. Angela Lyle and her husband, George, are liable for the crash because they had a duty to teach their son how to drive properly, according to the lawsuit.
It also states that the Lyles are responsible for their son's whereabouts between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Whittel can't explain the legal reasoning behind filing a civil suit before the criminal case is resolved, but "it buttresses our case," he said.
That's still small consolation, though, because the conflicting accounts are creating confusion for his clients.
"This is a very, very difficult time for them," he said. "They're under tremendous pressure."