NJ judge refuses to throw out manslaughter case against ex-NBA star Jayson Williams
By APFriday, October 16, 2009
NJ judge upholds Williams’ convictions and retrial
SOMERVILLE, N.J. — A New Jersey judge has rejected attempts by lawyers for Jayson Williams to dismiss a retrial on manslaughter charges against the former NBA star.
State Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman on Friday also denied Williams’ motion to overturn his 2004 conviction on charges he covered up the shooting death of a hired driver.
Williams faces retrial in January on a reckless manslaughter count.
Coleman ruled that defense attorneys didn’t prove that racial bias and prosecutorial misconduct tainted the first trial.
Members of the Hunterdon County prosecutor’s office testified this month that a county investigator used a racial slur to describe Williams, who is black.
The slur was not disclosed until more than three years after Williams’ conviction.
(This version CORRECTS the story to reflect that the judge upheld Williams’ conviction on covering up the killing.)
