Dinius Jury Deliberating

The sailing community is holding its collective breath this morning as the jury in the felony BUI case against Bismarck Dinius begins its deliberations. According to the addictive in-court ‘tweets’ from Dan Noyes and Elizabeth Larson, Judge Michael Byrne gave the jury its final instructions at the Lake County courthouse around 10 a.m., going over California boating law and emphasizing the prosecution’s burden to prove Bismarck guilty of being the primary cause of Lynn Thornton’s death.

If convicted, Bismarck’s case will set a terrifying precedent in the boating community. For centuries, maritime law has laid the burden of command on the captain of a vessel, not the crew. Just because Bismarck was at the tiller of Beats Workin’ II that dark night in 2006 when Sheriff Deputy Russell Perdock rammed his powerful speedboat into it, doesn’t mean he was in command. By all accounts, the boat’s owner, Mark Weber, was the master of the vessel. As the master, it was his duty to make sure the running lights were on — and many witnesses testified that they were indeed on.

It seems inconceivable that a jury could find Bismarck guilty of causing Lynn Thornton’s death, but it’s certainly possible they could find him guilty of misdemeanor BUI, as his BAC was over the .08 maximum. Particularly interesting in the judge’s instructions, though, was that, even though Bismarck’s BAC was .12, the jury doesn’t necessarily have to find him impaired.

Check out our Facebook page for updates during jury deliberations, and look for a full report in the September issue of Latitude 38.