On January 26, 2001, collegiate lacrosse coach Diane Whipple as returning to her San Francisco apartment with groceries in her arms. Little did she know that she would be killed by two vicious dogs owned by two of her neighbors. Majorie Knoller was returning to her own apartment at the same time Diane was. Marjorie had her two huge presa canario dogs in tow. These two dogs under the escort of Knoller killed Diane Whipple outside her apartment door.
Marjorie Knoller was charged with second degree murder by a San Francisco grand jury. After the trial was moved to Los Angeles due to pre-trial publicity, a jury of Marjorie Knoller�s peers found her guilty of second degree murder after hearing all of the evidence and sifting through it in jury deliberations.
Whipple�s domestic partner, Sharon Smith, was stunned with the judge, James Warren, discarded the jury�s verdict by overturning the second degree murder conviction in favor of manslaughter.
The attitudes of Ms. Knoller and her husband Robert Noel following the tragic death was abominable. Even while Diane was dying in the hospital, the owners of the dog were trying to lay the blame on the victim. The couple, both of whom have law degrees, never apologized for the tragedy and argued that they had limited legal liability. True, this is insufficient for a finding of second degree murder. However, it came out during the trial that the couple ignored warning signs of previous aggressive behavior by these dogs. This makes them culpable for the death of Ms. Whipple.
What good is a jury trial if a judge can come in and nullify their lawfully delivered verdict. Let�s then get rid of jury trials in favor of an elite class of judges who dispense justice. This is antithetical to the American notion of governance of, by, and for the people. Judge James Warren is a disgrace and has no business being on the bench.