State of Indiana V. Smith Dawson 2021 National High School Mock Trial National Championship Case
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The Indiana Bar Foundation and The National High School Mock Trial Championship are proud to present State of Indiana v. Smith Dawson 2021 National High School Mock Trial National Championship Case Copyright ©2021 Indiana Bar Foundation 615 N. Alabama St. Ste 426, Indianapolis, IN 46204 317-269-2415; www.inbf.org The case materials were created solely for the Indiana Bar Foundation for the purposes of hosting the National High School Mock Trial Competition in Evansville, Indiana. Reproduction of the case materials is not permitted for any other purpose. The names and events described herein were intended to be fictional. Any similarity or resemblance of any character to an actual person or entity should be regarded as coincidental. Acknowledgements Thank you to the following organizations for their support of the Indiana Bar Foundation and their efforts to host the 2021 National High School Mock Trial Championship: Indiana Bar Foundation Board of Directors National High School Mock Trial Board of Directors Indiana Supreme Court U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana City of Evansville, Indiana Evansville Bar Association This case is an original work, authored by the 2021 national case writing subcommittee of the Indiana Bar Foundation. Thanks to the team of writers and editors who produced this case: *Scott Barnhart, Esq., Office of the Indiana Attorney General Ryan Costantini, Esq., AM General LLC Janice Houghton, Heritage Christian School Tim Kalgreen, M.Ed., Indiana Bar Foundation Adam Packer, Esq., GTECH Indiana LLC First Lieutenant Haley Roach, Esq., United States Army *Denotes Committee Chair The case writing team also thanks Mr. Ron Fox, Esq., Fox Galvin, for his expertise in his review of the case. Indiana Bar Foundation Staff Charles Dunlap, J.D., President & CEO Kim Berry, Director of Development & Communications Kate Guererro, Director of Indiana Legal Help Tim Kalgreen, M.Ed., Director of Civic Education Lily Lawson, Chief Administration Officer Kayla O’Brien, Communications & Events Manager Joseph O’Connor, Civic Education Manager Marilyn Smith, J.D., Vice President & Director of Civil Justice Programs Michael Tranovich, IOLTA Manager / Finance Manager - 2 - Table of Contents Item Page Copyright 2 Acknowledgements 2 Case Introduction/Background 4 Stipulations 5 List of Witnesses 7 List of Exhibits 7 Indiana Code 8 Charging Document 10 Statement of Noah/Noa Hitter 12 Statement of Dr. N.J. Neer 21 Statement of Jordan Bennett 31 Statement of Smith Dawson 42 Statement of Obie Goode1 55 Statement of Portino/Portina Storm 64 Exhibits 71 Case Release Notes: Version 1.0 – Released 4/1/21 Version 2.0 – Released 4/14/21 Version 3.0 – Released 4/22/21 Version 4.0 – Released 4/29/21 1 Changed from previous version via Errata #10. Any occurrences later in the case should refer to Obie Goode. References to Obie Servant are unintentional and should be assumed to be Obie Goode. - 3 - INTRODUCTION This introduction is of no legal significance and is used for convenience only. It is not admissible for impeachment purposes or for any other purpose. The LST-325 is a decommissioned Tank Landing Ship built in Evansville in 1942 and used during the D-Day invasion. Since 2005, it has been docked in Evansville as a memorial to the men who sailed the LSTs and the city’s war effort. On May 4, 2019, several members of the Evansville River Rats, the local professional baseball team in an independent co-ed league, were filming a promotional video aboard LST-325. As they have since 1915, the River Rats play their home games at Bosse Field, the third oldest ballpark still in regular use in the United States (behind Fenway Park and Wrigley Field). Among the people on LST-325 was Noah/Noa Hitter, the team's Marketing Manager. After the shoot, Jamie "Catfish" Hunter, one of the River Rats pitchers, invited Hitter to go jug fishing along the Ohio River. Jug fishing is a method of fishing that uses lines suspended from floating jugs to catch fish in lakes or rivers. That same evening, Smith Dawson was serving as the captain of M/V Susan K. Roberts, a towboat belonging to the Knob Hill Barge Company (KHBC). Dawson is the majority owner of KHBC, which was founded in 1936 by Dawson’s grandparents, Jack and Rose, and has moved down the generations. Today, KHBC operates approximately 500 barges with a fleet of approximately 20 ships and 10 towboats on the Ohio, Mississippi, Cumberland, Tennessee, and Monongahela Rivers. However, in April of 2019, after never really recovering from the 2008-09 financial crisis, Smith signed a term sheet to sell a portion of the business to a private equity firm to keep capital moving. That deal was set to close in September of 2019. On May 4, 2019, the M/V Susan K. Roberts left the Newburgh Lock and Dam, approximately sixteen miles upriver from downtown Evansville, at 6:34 p.m., under unusual circumstances seemingly occupying Dawson’s mind. First, due to high water, a “Slow, No Wake” order was issued for the portion of the river around the Evansville oxbow. Next, from the investment company, the minority owner of the KHBC, was on board the ship. Third, it was unusual to travel a barge like the M/V Susan K. Roberts at night. Also adding to the circumstances was that the shipment onboard the M/V Susan K. Roberts was behind schedule getting to the destination, possibly leading to financial penalties. As the M/V Susan K. Roberts neared Dress Plaza in downtown Evansville, the river became clogged with floating log debris and recreational boaters still out on the water. A crash was heard and felt on the boat as it maneuvered through the Evansville oxbow. However, Dawson determined it was minor and kept going to the M/V Susan K. Roberts’s scheduled docking port in Mt. Vernon, Indiana. It was, in fact the case, that the M/V Susan K. Roberts hit Catfish’s small fishing boat. Catfish died in the accident and Hitter survived. Following an investigation, the United States Coast Guard referred the matter to local law enforcement. The Vanderburgh County prosecutor, on behalf of the State of Indiana, charged Smith with two Level 5 felonies: Reckless Homicide and Leaving the Scene. - 4 - STIPULATIONS 1. All exhibits included in the problem are authentic in all respects, and no objections to the authenticity of the exhibits shall be entertained. 2. Stipulations cannot be contradicted or challenged. 3. Jurisdiction in Vanderburgh County, Indiana is proper and cannot be challenged. 4. Neither federal nor maritime law applies. 5. The signatures on the witness statements, exhibits, and all other documents are authentic. 6. The Charge of the Court is accurate in all respects; no objections to the charge shall be entertained. 7. Chain of custody for evidence is not in dispute. 8. The defendant voluntarily waived his/her Fifth Amendment rights and will testify at the trial. No Fifth Amendment privileges will be entertained. 9. The defendant has waived his/her right to bring a Confrontation Clause challenge to any evidence in this case. No objection or argument based on the Confrontation Clause will be entertained. 10. The Introduction provided is for background purposes only. It is of no legal consequence in terms of the trial and is not admissible for impeachment purposes or for any other purpose. 11. The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is a volunteer service chartered by the United States Congress (14 U.S.C. § 821 et seq.) and overseen by the United States Department of Homeland Security and its agency, the United States Coast Guard. Its purpose is to assist the Coast Guard as authorized by the Commandant, in performing any Coast Guard function, power, duty, role, mission, or operation authorized by law, including patrol operations, where ordered to do so (14 U.S.C. § 822). 12. Any occurrences of a gender-specific pronoun used in reference of a character that can be called as a witness is unintentional. Assume the pronoun is gender neutral. 13. Special Agent Melissa May is a member of the Indiana National Guard’s 38th Infantry Division. She was called to active duty on December 1, 2020 and was deployed to Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar in support of military operations in the Middle East. 14. Detective Steven David was hired as a Deputy United States Marshal in February 2021. At the time of trial, he will be attending class at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynn County, Georgia. 15. Exhibit 1 is a blank Vessel Safety Check identical in form to the Vessel Safety Check form discussed in the case. 16. Exhibit 2 is an accurate depiction of the Evansville area but is not to scale. The locations marked on Exhibit 2 are accurately placed on the map. 17. Exhibit 3 is a picture of the M/V Susan K. Roberts pushing a group of approximately 23 barges. Exhibit 3 was taken from KHBC’s marketing materials and does not depict the Roberts on the date of the collision at issue. 18. Exhibits 4-7 are reports of the Coast Guard Investigative Service. They were maintained in the records of investigation of the collision at issue and were produced by the CGIS from its files to the prosecuting attorneys for the State of Indiana in response to a request for records from those attorneys. - 5 - 19. Exhibit 8 is taken from the public website of River Watch, a component of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary that focuses on America’s riparian transportation and boating communities.