BY DONNIE JOHNSTON
Culpeper County Commonwealth's Attorney Gary Close struck out twice this week in his attempt to get as much as $20,000 to hire a sleep-deprivation expert to testify in a multiple traffic-death trial.
On Monday, Circuit Judge Jack Berry turned down Close's request for $5,000 to hire Dr. William Christopher Winter for the May trial of Eugene T. Green, who is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter stemming from an automobile accident on State Route 3 on March 22 of last year.
"The judge said he had no authority, that it was not within his power to give us the money," Close said minutes before the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors rejected a similar but scaled-down request at yesterday's meeting.
Close had originally asked the board's Public Safety Committee for $20,000, but a motion for that amount was amended to $5,000 when the prosecutor said he could live with that figure.
But in a tight budget year, the supervisors were not willing to budge on the issue, adding that it was not their business to get involved in a specific trial.
"A lot of my constituents have contacted me on this issue, and none of them say it is a good idea," Supervisor Tom Underwood told Close.
Close said Winter's expert testimony is needed to help the jury understand the effects of sleep deprivation on a driver.
In an affidavit filed in January, Close wrote that Green had been awake for 20 straight hours when the late- night crash occurred, and had slept only six or seven hours during the previous 48-hour period.
He added that Winter calls this case the "perfect storm" of sleep deprivation.
Green is accused of driving on the wrong side of the road when he crashed into another car. Killed in the crash were Tianna Jones, Tyler Harlow, Joseph Sahnow and James Cook.
Close told the board that Winter, from Charlottesville, has worked with professional athletes and would explain to jurors about "micro-sleep" and how carbohydrates might affect sleep.
Supervisor Bill Chase, a former Army Ranger who said he was trained to go without sleep, didn't buy Close's scientific argument.
"If I were a juror, I'd go to sleep while [Winter] was talking," he said. "I had 12 hours of sleep Saturday night, and I dozed off while the preacher was talking Sunday morning. That was no perfect storm."
Responding to a question from Supervisor Sue Hansohn, Close said that the state usually provides expert witnesses at no cost, especially in the field of ballistics and forensics. But there are no state-employed experts on sleep deprivation, he said.
As for the amount needed to pay Winter, Close said expert witnesses such as doctors are almost always paid large amounts when testifying in civil trials. In extreme cases, the prosecutor added, such a witness might be kept on the stand or in the court for several days to a week.
"I cannot subpoena this man without compensating him," Close explained.
He added that two past sleep-deprivation case convictions were overturned on appeal because no expert witness had testified at the original trial.
Close said his original $20,000 request had been a worst-case figure and that $5,000 was more realistic.
Still, the board rejected the request 6-1, with only Supervisor Steve Walker voting to grant the money. Close said he was not sure what he would do next.
Donnie Johnston:
Email: djohnston@freelancestar.com