Sunday, November 27, 2011

The criminal trial of the truck driver who killed Sylvia over 26 months ago in Cleveland has finally concluded. Herschel Roberts was convicted Monday 11/21 of “aggravated vehicular homicide” due to recklessness. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison and had his driver’s license revoked for life. Various articles and TV news clips can be found by googling “herschel roberts cleveland.”


We were wonderfully supported by Sylvia’s friends and the Cleveland biking community throughout the trial. We were unhappy that evidence of the use of drugs by the driver (16 times the legal limit) was ‘suppressed’ (not admitted) by the judge in the bench trial (no jury, at the defendant’s request) but he nonetheless concluded that Roberts had to have seen Sylvia in his side mirrors had he looked before turning sharply right. His failure to exercise care was deemed recklessness.


Several legal issues which are important for the biking community in Ohio arose during the two-year legal proceedings which Steve will be addressing as part of his work on the Sylvia Bingham Fund (SBF) when he reduces his work time at Bay Area Legal Aid to 20% in January.


Expect to hear from us as we strive to raise more funds to underwrite the Fund’s donations to grass-roots organizations whose work corresponds to the SBF mission. If you would like to claim a 2011 tax deduction, we encourage donations at this time to the Peace Development Fund. See the 'contact and donation info' page for details on how to make donations. In January, the items regarding legal proceedings will be moved to an inside page as the website evolves into the SBF’s central communications medium.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Criminal Trial will start on Monday, November 14

It was confirmed this week that the criminal trial of Herschel Roberts who killed Sylvia over two years ago will finally begin at 9 a.m. on November 14 at the Cuyahoga Count Justice Center at 1200 Ontario St. in downtown Cleveland in room 19D, Judge Gaul presiding. The criminal charges are Aggravated Vehicular Homicide and Failure to Stop After an Accident. The trial is expected to last up to one week. The trial is of course open to the public and anyone interested is encouraged to attend. -- Steve and Francoise