Two top Galveston County attorneys give insight on how Haney manslaughter trial could play out after latest delay. While the six year old manslaughter case involving former Texas City Commissioner, Dee Ann Haney is postponed, i45NOW spoke with two of the top Galveston County attorneys about how the future of this trial could play out. Haney faces two manslaughter charges after a July 3, 2017, crash on a connector road to the northbound lanes of Galveston Causeway. Hong Phuc Le, 33, and his father, Van Duoc Le, 58, pulled to the side of the road to secure their load and were outside a stopped black truck when Haney’s truck crashed into them and their truck. Both men were killed. Haney was initially charged with intoxicated manslaughter after telling investigators she had smoked marijuana several hours before the crash. Blood tests, however, never detected any significant amounts of THC in Haney’s system. Eventually, a grand jury indicted Haney on the two charges of manslaughter. Attorney and owner of Tad Nelson & Associates, Tad Nelson spoke out saying that it was ‘another shortcut by the DA,’ and ‘huge mistake’ to drop it down to manslaughter. He believes that because of this ‘shortcut,’ defense attorney Kevin Rekoff will exploit it. As a former League City Police Lieutenant and now a defense attorney, Dan Krieger talked about how the process of the investigation could play into the trial. He said if there were any shortcuts or evidence not secured properly based on Galveston Police or DPS protocols, that could impact the credibility the jury gives to the evidence. Both Nelson and Krieger do not believe Haney’s political position will play a factor in the trial. With the amount of rescheduling and cancellations over the years, some may wonder if this gives either side a leg up. Both attorneys don’t believe so, in fact, Krieger said it could potentially work against the defense. Much of the early delays were because the DA kept sending blood back for toxicology tests. Then the pandemic hit, the courthouse caught on fire and there was a change in prosecutors. While the trial does not have a new date set, both gave insight on what could be expected when it is rescheduled.

Posted by i45NOW Joey at 2023-10-17 22:03:50 UTC