By Larkin White
SACRAMENTO – Judge Michael Sweet of Sacramento County Superior Court sentenced defendant Thomas Doshier—a man with a squeaky clean record but who said his lawyer was incompetent—to four years and four months in state prison for crashing his car while high on marijuana and seriously injuring a man in another car.
Doshier, a lifelong user of marijuana for medical purposes, had smoked a “bowl”—between .3 and .4 of a gram of marijuana—before heading to work one day, when the crash occurred.
The victim is believed to be permanently injured and unable to continue his job as a mechanic. On top of Doshier’s sentence, he will be required to pay immediate restitution in the amount of $3,827.83 with an additional open-ended amount if ongoing costs arise for the victim.
Doshier had a clean record prior to the crash. Judge Sweet acknowledged that Doshier has led a law-abiding life, but this one catastrophic day has now seemingly affected another person for life.
Doshier, on the advice of private defense attorney Steven Whitworth, entered a plea deal with Deputy District Attorney Danny Lee early on in the case.
The defendant admitted to personally inflicting serious bodily harm, for which DDA Lee sought a low term of four years and four months.
Doshier then submitted a request to withdraw his plea on the basis that his attorney, Whitworth, was incompetent and gave him poor advice. However, Judge Sweet failed to find good cause and denied the motion at the beginning of the sentencing hearing.
Whitworth submitted a mitigation package prior to the hearing containing letters attesting to Doshier’s character as a neighbor, family man, and employee and presenting his medical situation. During the hearing, defense counsel argued Doshier’s lack of criminality throughout his life, as well as his medical dependence on marijuana.
He emphasized that Doshier does not use marijuana out of addiction or for recreational purposes and alleged that at the time of the incident he had it in his system to “quell actual physical maladies.”
Whitworth finished his argument by stating that, while the victim’s life is tragically impaired, it is not appropriate to ruin Doshier’s life as well. He asked that Doshier be allowed to retire early and continue giving monetary restitution.
However, defendant Doshier admitted that he would not be able to live off of his retirement and would need to find another job, which seemed improbable given the felony nature of his crime.
DDA Lee insisted that it had been determined some time ago that Doshier’s job would be terminated, which Doshier disagreed with under the belief that he would prevail in the case.
The victim and his wife also wrote and submitted an extensive letter, emphasizing his significant—and probably lifelong—injuries. He suffered a displaced fracture in his tibia area and a fracture in his left pelvic area, among other wounds.
Lee responded to Whitworth’s arguments by pointing out that he is not alleging an addiction problem, but that a grave criminal mistake was made, nonetheless.
Ultimately, Judge Sweet noted that, while the law has been changed regarding the criminality of marijuana, it has not changed regarding its impairment to the user and that, regardless of his medical needs, Doshier should have balanced his desire to smoke against his legal obligation to drive safely, he said.
The judge determined that only a probation sentence did not seem to be fair, because of the severity of the victim’s injuries. The court said that, even if it was an accident, it does not relieve Doshier of responsibility.
He sentenced Doshier to a low-term of 16 months, with a three-year enhancement rising from the admission contained in his plea, in effect giving him a sentence of four years and four months, exactly what the DDA had requested.
While the immediate restitution was only set at $3,827.83, the victim is allowed to request more as more costs accrue, although it will be subject to the approval of the California Victim Compensation Board.
Additionally, Doshier’s driver license is suspended for a year and he has lost his right to have firearms.
Before Doshier was taken away, Whitworth asked that he be given a two-week time frame to get his affairs in order and turn himself in.
Judge Sweet denied the request on the basis that he had already given Doshier a significant amount of time and told him to be ready for a sentence at his last hearing.
To sign up for our new newsletter – Everyday Injustice – https://tinyurl.com/yyultcf9
