Defense: Lawyer failed Lee

If attorney Tracy Eichhorn-Hicks had done an adequate job of representing Koua Fong Lee, the jury likely would have found reasonable doubt and acquitted him of all charges in a horrific crash in June 2006 that killed three people, Ron Meshbesher testified Wednesday.

"The case was not properly investigated," said Meshbesher, a prominent longtime Minnesota criminal defense attorney. "Unless you've done a thorough investigation, you're not ready to go to trial."

Meshbesher testified for the defense on Day 3 of a hearing in Ramsey County District Court to determine whether Lee will get a new trial. He is serving an eight-year sentence for criminal vehicular homicide.

When Eichhorn-Hicks took the stand as a prosecution witness later in the day, he said he repeatedly discussed his trial strategy with Lee and his family and they agreed with it. He also said that at the time, he had never heard of sudden unintended acceleration and didn't find any information about it on the Internet.

Lee, 32, of St. Paul, was driving a 1996 Toyota Camry on June 10, 2006, when he slammed into the back of an Olds Ciera. The driver, Javis Adams Sr., 33, and his 9-year-old son, Javis Jr., died at the scene. Adams' niece, Devyn Bolton, died about 1 1/2 years later at the age of 7. Family members of the victims have attended most of this week's hearing.

While questioning Meshbesher, defense attorney Bob Hilliard highlighted portions of Eichhorn-Hicks' opening statement and closing argument. Eichhorn-Hicks told the jury that it was likely Lee mistakenly stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake. Since the crash, Lee has said that he was pumping the brakes, but they didn't work.

Eichhorn-Hicks said in his closing, "If you find he was hitting the accelerator, then that is negligence and you probably have to find him guilty of careless driving," a misdemeanor.

In his testimony, Eichhorn-Hicks said, "We were denying the felony charges."

Eichhorn-Hicks testified that he told the jury that Lee mistakenly stepped on the accelerator because he had no other explanation for how Lee's car went from 55 miles per hour on the freeway exit ramp to 80 or 90 mph at the time of the crash.

During the trial, Eichhorn-Hicks also never got a waiver from Lee that Eichhorn-Hicks planned to contradict him, although he did get oral waivers from Lee about two other issues, Hilliard pointed out during Meshbesher's testimony.

And though Eichhorn-Hicks said he didn't find any information about unintended acceleration on the Internet, defense witnesses said it was simple, even in 2007, to find that information.

Wade Bartlett, a mechanical engineer, vehicle inspector and accident reconstructionist who examined Lee's Camry for the prosecution in April, contradicted a key defense expert Wednesday.

Bartlett also disagreed with Sero about the sequence of the crash. He said Lee's Camry hit the Oldsmobile in the right lane first, then rotated and the back end hit a 1992 Toyota Solera in the middle lane.

The left rear brake light filament broke in the impact with the Solera, he said. The brake light could have been illuminated because the force of the first impact depressed the pedal a bit, because Lee bumped his leg against it in the impact or because he had his foot on the brake pedal, Bartlett said.

On Thursday, prosecutors plan to call Frank Sonye, who also inspected Lee's vehicle in April. The defense may then present a rebuttal witness.