Ahab Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 4 minutes ago, Raingirl said: Just read that the jury ruled in favor of the Cox family. Awarded 98.5 million As a taxpayer in the state of Washington I am pleased to know the money I paid to state taxes will be going toward helping to pay that settlement. Hopefully it will also help my State government to learn a lesson. 3 Link to comment
esodije Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 I’m usually no fan of huge jury awards in tort cases against government agencies, but there are times when the behavior is so grossly negligent, and the consequences so horrific, that justice demands a financial thrashing. Josh Powell was pure evil, and the judge and CPS looked the other way. 4 Link to comment
Bernard Gui Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 (edited) Thanks for stealing my thunder! 😀 That kind of award will cause governments all over the US to sit up and pay attention. That was one of the main reasons for the lawsuit. This brings much closure to the Coxes, but Susan remains missing and the ones who knew where she was are gone. Some believe another of his sisters knows, but she is not forthcoming. Now a new vista opens as Chuck and Judy move to make something positive out of all the suffering. Edited August 1, 2020 by Bernard Gui 2 Link to comment
Bernard Gui Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 3 hours ago, Ahab said: As a taxpayer in the state of Washington I am pleased to know the money I paid to state taxes will be going toward helping to pay that settlement. Hopefully it will also help my State government to learn a lesson. Perhaps there will be some personnel adjustments. Link to comment
pogi Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 1 hour ago, Bernard Gui said: That kind of award will cause governments all over the US to sit up and pay attention.. I only pray they don’t over correct and start stripping all murder suspects of custody rights. 1 Link to comment
Calm Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 1 hour ago, pogi said: I only pray they don’t over correct and start stripping all murder suspects of custody rights. Since spouses are always top suspects (with very good reasons), this could be problematic if kids become automatically removed from the remaining parent at a time of shock from losing the other under horrendous circumstances. 1 Link to comment
Bernard Gui Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, pogi said: I only pray they don’t over correct and start stripping all murder suspects of custody rights. At the very least, such a situation should merit closer scrutiny. I think this will make sure that happens. Edited August 1, 2020 by Bernard Gui Link to comment
Bernard Gui Posted August 2, 2020 Author Share Posted August 2, 2020 (edited) This judgment will cause waves of change in child abuse policies all over the country. Quote “Nothing can bring back the boys, but this is the end of a nightmare, and it’s gratifying to hear a jury tell the state they were wrong, and to award a verdict that will force them to change the culture ... to make sure this doesn’t happen to other children in the future.“ Charles Cox. Read more here: https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article244647422.html#storylink=cpy Edited August 2, 2020 by Bernard Gui 1 Link to comment
provoman Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 (edited) On 7/31/2020 at 5:48 PM, esodije said: I’m usually no fan of huge jury awards in tort cases against government agencies, but there are times when the behavior is so grossly negligent, and the consequences so horrific, that justice demands a financial thrashing. Josh Powell was pure evil, and the judge and CPS looked the other way. What do you think the "gross negligence" was or even "negligence"? Edited August 3, 2020 by provoman Link to comment
MorningStar Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 21 hours ago, Bernard Gui said: This judgment will cause waves of change in child abuse policies all over the country. I sure hope so. I don't know how they allowed visitation between the child p, trashing their mom publicly (trying to publish her journals online and accuse her of running off with a man), and of course obviously having murdered Susan. Who takes toddlers camping in the winter in the middle of the night?! Even his "alibi" should've been a reason to deny him visitation. I'm happy for the Coxes and I hope they will get closure someday. 3 Link to comment
Bernard Gui Posted August 3, 2020 Author Share Posted August 3, 2020 10 hours ago, provoman said: What do you think the "gross negligence" was or even "negligence"? The way Washington DSHS handled the Charlie and Braden Powell custody issue is a good place to start. 1 Link to comment
Bernard Gui Posted September 27, 2020 Author Share Posted September 27, 2020 (edited) In a hearing last week, the State of Washington asked Judge Rumbaugh, the trial judge, to reduce the amount of damages awarded by the jury in Cox v State ofcWahington lawsuit. He complied and cut them by two thirds, stating the amount was “shocking to this court.” He claimed the jurors were unduly swayed by passion. The Coxes will appeal to the State Supreme Court. All 12 jurors have signed affidavits opposing his characterization of their decision and are planning to go public. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/judge-reduces-24985m-award-by-two-thirds-in-cox-family-wrongful-death-case/ar-BB196yOF https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2020-09-15/judge-reduces-damages-over-murder-of-missing-womans-sons Edited September 28, 2020 by Bernard Gui 1 Link to comment
Scott Lloyd Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 6 hours ago, Bernard Gui said: In a hearing last week, the State of Washington asked Judge Rumbaugh, the trial judge, to reduce the amount of damages awarded by the jury in. He complied and cut them by two thirds, stating the amount was “shocking to this court.” He claimed the jurors were unduly swayed by passion. The Coxes will appeal to the State Supreme Court. All 12 jurors have signed affidavits opposing his characterization of their decision and are planning to go public. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/judge-reduces-24985m-award-by-two-thirds-in-cox-family-wrongful-death-case/ar-BB196yOF https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2020-09-15/judge-reduces-damages-over-murder-of-missing-womans-sons Wow. This is the first I’ve heard of a jury pushing back against a judge’s decision. Sounds like in this instance the push-back is warranted. Link to comment
Bernard Gui Posted September 28, 2020 Author Share Posted September 28, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said: Wow. This is the first I’ve heard of a jury pushing back against a judge’s decision. Sounds like in this instance the push-back is warranted. I would really like to hear your thoughts on this. The jury has been asked to appear on 20/20. All 12 have written affidavits. I overheard one who attended the appeal who said he has been in a security business that requires a college degree and top secret clearance for over 25 years, that they had faithfully and attentively followed the court for months, that the jury had taken great pains to follow strictly the judge’s instructions about emotional decisions, and that he felt insulted by the judge’s characterization of their work. He asked why there had to be a jury if the judge could disregard their work and impose his feelings instead. Edited September 28, 2020 by Bernard Gui 1 Link to comment
Scott Lloyd Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 4 hours ago, Bernard Gui said: I would really like to hear your thoughts on this. The jury has been asked to appear on 20/20. All 12 have written affidavits. I overheard one who attend the appeal who was saying he has been in a security business that requires a college degree and top secret clearance for over 25 years, that they had faithfully and attentively followed the court for months, that the jury had taken great pains to follow strictly the judge’s instructions about emotional decisions, and that he felt insulted by the judge’s characterization of their work. He asked why there had to be a jury if the judge could disregard their work and impose his feelings instead. I have often wondered about this. I suppose some juries render decisions that are in clear contravention of the law, such as monetary awards that exceed the legal limit in a given case. It would be up to the judge to correct, so to speak, the errant decision by the jury. But sometimes the ruling of a judge supervening a jury decision does seem subjective indeed. I would be interested to see the 20-20 episode that has the jurors on as guests. Any idea when that will be? Link to comment
Bernard Gui Posted September 28, 2020 Author Share Posted September 28, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Scott Lloyd said: I have often wondered about this. I suppose some juries render decisions that are in clear contravention of the law, such as monetary awards that exceed the legal limit in a given case. It would be up to the judge to correct, so to speak, the errant decision by the jury. But sometimes the ruling of a judge supervening a jury decision does seem subjective indeed. I would be interested to see the 20-20 episode that has the jurors on as guests. Any idea when that will be? No, the date has not been announced yet. It was made known from the start and throughout the trial that the plaintiffs were seeking a very substantial compensation. Potential jurors were asked if they would have reservations about awarding a significant amount for damages. Most answered no, and some said no if the situation were serious enough to warrant it. The amount was based on the number of minutes the boys suffered torture under the hand of their father before they died. This was a point of contention between expert witnesses on both sides, but the plaintiffs’ witness was one of the most recognized forensic pathologists in the world, and his testimony was devastating against the state. The judge did not say the award exceeded a legal limit, only that in his words “it was shocking to this court.” He did not explain how he calculated the amount he thought should be awarded. Edited September 28, 2020 by Bernard Gui 2 Link to comment
Stargazer Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 (edited) On 8/1/2020 at 12:32 AM, Ahab said: As a taxpayer in the state of Washington I am pleased to know the money I paid to state taxes will be going toward helping to pay that settlement. Hopefully it will also help my State government to learn a lesson. As a Washingtonian, too, I can say the state has not ever learned its lesson. This is not the first time they've been criminally negligent. Edited October 2, 2020 by Stargazer Link to comment
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