New Judge Sought for Driver’s 2nd Murder Trial

A Ventura County prosecutor said Thursday that he wants to prevent Diane Mannes from being tried on murder charges by the same judge who dismissed identical charges against her last year.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Donald C. Glynn filed a motion to have Judge Robert Soares replaced by another judge before Mannes goes to trial on July 30. Glynn said Soares should excuse himself because “he has expressed an opinion about the case that showed prejudice.”

Mannes, 35, of Somis, pleaded not guilty Thursday to three counts of murder in the drunk driving deaths of three young men who were walking on the shoulder of the Ventura Freeway on the Conejo Grade last year.

On March 31, 1989, Mannes’ Ford Bronco slammed into Jacob Boyd, 14, and Joshua Oxenreider, 19, both of Camarillo, and Scott Mullins, 20, of Mansfield, Ohio, killing them and injuring two of their friends. Tests showed that her blood contained twice the 0.10% legal definition of drunkenness.

On Nov. 17, a Superior Court jury convicted Mannes of two felony drunk driving charges but deadlocked on three second-degree murder charges. Glynn moved to retry Mannes on the murder charges, but Soares refused to reset the case for trial and dismissed the charges. His ruling cited a lack of evidence that Mannes acted with malice or was aware of her actions.

The ruling said a second trial would be “a waste of time and money” and concluded, “There is no likelihood that a retrial on these charges will result in a unanimous verdict of murder.”

Glynn refiled murder charges in Municipal Court, where a judge refused Deputy Public Defender Robert Dahlstedt’s motion to have them dismissed. Dahlstedt appealed that judge’s ruling on grounds of double jeopardy--an appeal that was rejected in Superior Court, 2nd District Court of Appeal and state Supreme Court.

On Thursday, Dahlstedt complicated the latest round of courtroom maneuverings by filing a highly unusual plea of illegal double jeopardy on Mannes’ behalf. Dahlstedt argued that Mannes should not be tried a second time after a jury had failed to convict her the first time.

Dahlstedt asked Soares to schedule two separate trials: one for the plea of illegal double jeopardy and one for the criminal charges. The public defender said that if a jury finds that a second criminal trial would place Mannes in double jeopardy, then no murder trial can be held.

Soares scheduled both trials for July 30, when he--or the judge who replaces him--will decide whether one or two juries should hear the matters.

Dahlstedt also filed a motion Thursday to suspend Proposition 115 for Mannes’ criminal trial and allow attorneys, not the judge, to choose the juries. Proposition 115 was passed on June 5, giving judges the responsibility of choosing juries.

“In a case like this, there’s lots of publicity and it’s a very emotional case,” Dahlstedt said after the arraignment. “I don’t think judges who aren’t practiced in picking juries would be able to question jurors and draw out any biases they might have.”

A hearing will be held June 27 on that motion and on Glynn’s motion to have Soares replaced.

After arraignment, Mannes was returned to Ventura County Jail, where she is serving four years for the felony drunk-driving charges.