Prosecutors Argue Senser Verdict Should Stand
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) -- Hennepin County prosecutors have responded to an appeal in the Amy Senser case, arguing that the judge should reject a defense request to throw out her convictions on two counts of felony criminal vehicular homicide.
Senser was convicted May 3 in the hit-and-run death of 38-year-old Anousone Phanthavong, who was killed last August along Interstate 94 near the Riverside exit.
Days later, attorneys learned of a note the jury sent to the judge, which said jurors believed Senser hit a vehicle, not a person. Senser's attorney says there's not enough evidence to support the jury's verdict.
WEB EXTRA: Read Prosecution's Response To Appeal (.PDF)
Documents from prosecutors argue that Senser should not be entitled to a new trial because "none of the grounds specified by the rule are applicable to this case."
Prosecutors also insisted that the jury's instructions regarding Senser's knowledge after striking Phanthavong were "proper and agreed to by defense counsel."
The document says Senser should not be entitled to a new trial based on "abuses of discretion."
Senser is the wife of former Viking Joe Senser. She is scheduled to be sentenced July 9.
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