Bill Jerklow (R-S.D.) on trial

Bill Janklow, a brash South Dakota congressman and a former governor of the state, once joked in a major address that only jail time would stop him from speeding.

...After the fatal accident, a local newspaper published details of Mr. Janklow's driving record. Since 1990, it showed, he has been involved in seven other accidents and received 12 speeding tickets.  article

Defense lawyers are saying Janklow had a diabetic reaction, which is responsible for him speeding through a stop sign and killing a man on a motorcycle. Bets on the outcome of the trial anyone?


State Senator William Napoli, a fellow Republican, said Mr. Janklow's bad driving habits were notorious. The former governor did not believe the laws of the state applied to him, the Senator said.

"Anyone who knew Janklow knew Janklow drove like a maniac," said Mr. Napoli, who has worked closely with Mr. Janklow in Pierre, the state's capital, and has known him for more than 30 years.

"We were all hoping he would get out of office before something like this happened, and he didn't make it.

You were hoping he'd get out of office before it happened? Hey, after that, who cares, huh?

Almost everyone in Flandreau, a farming community of 2,300, knows Mr. Janklow, who is widely considered one of South Dakota's most influential men. He served as attorney-general for four years and spent 16 years as governor before being elected to South Dakota's sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives last year.

One political colleague described him as arrogant and intimidating -- the kind of man who usually gets what he wants. A friend of George W. Bush, Mr. Janklow's name has been mentioned as a possible 2004 election opponent for Mr. Daschle.

Mr. Daschel, by the way, will testify that Mr. Jerklow didn't eat after taking an insulin shot.

If Mr. Janklow is convicted of the felony charge, the House ethics committee would immediately launch an investigation.

According to committee rules, representatives convicted of such crimes should refrain from voting, meaning South Dakota could effectively lose its voice in the House until next year.

Mr. Napoli, the Senator, wants the state's leaders to demand Mr. Janklow's resignation if he is found guilty. "There is every doubt in my mind that that would happen," he said. "This was the most powerful man in South Dakota."

How about those bets? Anybody?

In his 1999 State of the State address, Mr. Janklow joked about his driving habits while explaining the importance of instituting month-long jail terms for drug possession.

"Bill Janklow speeds when he drives -- shouldn't but he does," said Mr. Janklow, who was then governor. "When he gets the ticket he pays it, but if someone told me I was going to jail for two days for speeding, my driving habits would change. I can pay the ticket, but I don't want to go to jail. It's that simple..."

These are your esteemed representatives.

Best wishes, America.