Judge Calls Crash Defense Unfair

A federal judge said defense lawyers acted unfairly but he postponed a decision today on a motion for mistrial in the liability case stemming from a 1986 air crash over Cerritos that killed 82 people.

U.S. District Judge David V. Kenyon ordered all sides in the complicated trial to return Nov. 10 to resolve the mistrial issue--based on the health of private pilot William Kramer. On Wednesday, attorney Frank Brummett, representing the Kramer family, said the pilot may have died minutes before his small plane collided with an Aeromexico DC-9 over Cerritos. “I think the government, as well as Aeromexico, has made a strong enough case of unfairness,” Kenyon said. “I don’t think it’s fair to these defendants. This trial will stop.”