THOUSAND OAKS : Prosecution Delayed in Mannes’ Case

The prosecution of Diane Mannes in the drunk-driving deaths of three young men in 1989 was further delayed Wednesday when a Ventura County judge ruled that he has no jurisdiction over the case because technically it is still in federal court.

In anticipation that the case will soon return to state court, prosecutors on Monday filed gross vehicular manslaughter charges against Mannes, 38. A follow-up hearing is scheduled Feb. 10 in Ventura before Superior Court Judge James McNally.

On Monday the U. S. Supreme Court ended a legal battle that lasted nearly four years when it refused to allow Mannes to be prosecuted for murder in the accident on the Conejo Grade near Thousand Oaks. She was tried once on murder charges, but the jury deadlocked and the trial judge made comments afterward that federal judges have construed as an acquittal.

The federal rulings allow Mannes to be prosecuted on the lesser manslaughter charges, but defense attorneys said they will fight that with a number of legal arguments, including that Mannes was denied her right to a speedy trial.

Deputy Public Defender Robert Dahlstedt said he will contest any charge that Mannes’ actions constitute gross negligence. Defense attorneys were willing to let her plead guilty to simple vehicular manslaughter, Dahlstedt said.

A conviction of gross vehicular manslaughter would expose Mannes to a maximum 14-year prison term, twice the sentence that simple vehicular manslaughter would carry. She has already served two years and seven months in prison.