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Coos County coroner sentenced to 30 days in jail for shooting.


Byline: Winston Ross The Register-Guard

CORRECTION (ran 10/22/04): A story that ran on Page D1 on Oct. 15 about the sentencing of William Hosack misidentified him as the Coos County Coos County is the name of two counties in the United States:
  • Coos County, New Hampshire
  • Coos County, Oregon
 coroner. He is the former coroner.

COQUILLE co·quille  
n.
A scallop-shaped dish or a scallop shell in which various seafood dishes are browned and served.



[French, from Latin conch
 - Coos County's coroner handed his keys, wallet and money clip A money clip is a device typically used to store cash and/or credit cards in a very compact fashion for those who do not wish to carry a wallet. Metal Money Clip  to his sobbing wife on Thursday and held out his arms for sheriff's deputies to slap handcuffs hand·cuff  
n.
A restraining device consisting of a pair of strong, connected hoops that can be tightened and locked about the wrists and used on one or both arms of a prisoner in custody; a manacle. Often used in the plural.

tr.v.
 on him - the start of a 30-day jail sentence jail sentence jail npeine f de prison  for negligently shooting a man in the chest earlier this year.

The sentence for veteran medical examiner A public official charged with investigating all sudden, suspicious, unexplained, or unnatural deaths within the area of his or her appointed jurisdiction. A medical examiner differs from a Coroner in that a medical examiner is a physician.  William Hosack is a far cry from the five years in prison he faced if Judge Richard Mickelson had sentenced him under guidelines for his third-degree assault conviction - levied at the conclusion of his trial last month. That's because his crime involved a firearm.

"You're lucky the Legislature has retained discretion to judges for the firearm minimum," Mickelson said.

Hosack, 63, was initially charged with first-degree assault after a shooting on his rural property in February, when several young people drove up to his property and got into a fight with his neighbors.

According to one neighbor, Don Wyatt, the men were beating him severely when Hosack came to his aid, wielding a pistol. The coroner fired it into the air and then struck one of the men, causing the gun to discharge again, hitting 21-year-old Justus Mason Cloud in the chest. Cloud survived the shooting.

The judge found Hosack negligent largely because he'd failed to put the safety on his gun before striking the man. At Thursday's sentencing in Coquille, Mickelson gave Hosack a stern rebuke.

"This was an extremely serious incident, and it all occurred because you brought the pistol to a fist fight," Mickelson said.

Attorney Steve Wilgers had argued that Hosack should be given credit for his decades of service to the community, as a physician and medical examiner. He also had no prior criminal record. But Mickelson rejected that appeal as "what I call a bank account argument," that to describe Hosack's years of service is to suggest he had paid into some kind of account all this time and should now be able to make a withdrawal.

"You take out one heck of a deposit today," Mickelson said.

The judge also gave Hosack three years of probation, ordered him to forfeit the pistol he used and not to possess any other firearms, attend drug and alcohol counseling, pay more than $20,000 in restitution to Cloud and a fine of $5,000.

Hosack's family reacted angrily to the sentence.

"I'm devastated dev·as·tate  
tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates
1. To lay waste; destroy.

2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark.
. He was defending himself," said Hosack's wife, Kathy. "There was nothing he could have done differently. We're just a normal, all-American family."

Hosack's daughter, a Chicago attorney who attended the trial, lashed out at the judge.

"This is the most gross miscarriage of justice A legal proceeding resulting in a prejudicial out-come.

A miscarriage of justice arises when the decision of a court is inconsistent with the substantive rights of a party.
 I have ever witnessed," Brittany MacDonald said. "That just is one of the poorest jurists The following lists are of prominent jurists, including judges, listed in alphabetical order by jurisdiction. See also list of lawyers. Antiquity
  • Hammurabi
  • Solomon
  • Manu
  • Chanakya
 I have had the displeasure of witnessing in action. We felt like victims from the get-go.'
COPYRIGHT 2004 The Register Guard
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2004, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Title Annotation:Crime; The judge in the case delivers a stern rebuke, while William Hosack's family claims a "gross miscarriage of justice"
Publication:The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR)
Date:Oct 15, 2004
Words:504
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