State of Midlands v. Danny Dawson

## Synopsis

On September 24, 2010, Vanessa Sullivan, daughter of Midlands’ most prominent prosecutor, celebrated her 21st birthday with two friends, Taylor Hopson and Danny Dawson, at Chuggie’s Sports Bar. After several hours of celebration at the bar, the three left in a car driven by Dawson. On the way home, Dawson lost control of the car, resulting in a crash in which Sullivan was killed.

A special prosecutor was appointed because of the conflict of interest in having the victim’s parent’s office prosecute the case. A grand jury has returned a multi-count indictment charging the defendant, Danny Dawson, with murder and driving under the influence.

## Witnesses

### Prosecution

* Taylor Hopson
* Avery Smith
* Ryan Foster
* Pat Lawrence

### Defense

* Leslie Roman
* Danny Dawson
* Ashley Norton
* Jordan James

### Swing

* Sam Lyons
* London Bennett
* Sandy Cullen

## Other Persons of Interest

* Vanessa Sullivan
* Ryan Sullivan

## Other Case References

* In this case Chuggie's Sports Bar is the same bar as the Chuggie's in Daniel v. Chuggie's Sports Bar. This case even has a reference to the human darts board which was the big issue in that case.
* Ryan Foster mentions one of the officers on duty the night of the crash was Officer Ingman. This is a reference to the witness Loren Ingman from Jeffries v. PCPD, who was also a cop in that case.
* London Bennett is a relative of Jacob Bennett, the victim from State v. Owens. London states that London is the last alive member of the Bennett family.
* Allen v. Neptune has a piece of case law named Hopson v. Dawson, which is a reference to Taylor Hopson and Danny Dawson, implying that Hopson sued Dawson in a preceding separate from this case.
* In Ginger v. Heisman, it's revealed that Ryan Sullivan ran for Mayor of Truman, Midlands in 2011, however Ryan was ultimately defeated by Max Heisman.
* In Park v. Duran, it's stated that Ryan Sullivan, as the district attorney declined to press charges against Jesse Duran for the shooting of Sydney Park.
* In State v. Bancroft and Covington, Avery Bancroft's Campaign Finance Report shows that Bancroft made campaign contributions to Ryan Sullivan's bid for DA, and bid for mayor in 2011.
* London Bennett is also mentioned in State v. Bancroft and Covington, as its mentioned that Avery has tried to get London to spend some of London's inheritance money at Bancroft's casino.
* In State v. Ryder, Corbin Dallas and Jordan Ryder's parents were killed in a car crash on Canyon Road, the same road where Vanessa Sullivan died.
* Also in State v. Ryder, while intoxicated, Corbin Dallas was heard mumbling "here peaches, here peaches, where you at peaches" which is a reference to London Bennett's dog Peaches.

## Trivia

* This is the only case so far to feature a conflict of interest.
* This case featured AMTA's first ever audio exhibit, which could be played on a Portable Stereo at trial after burning the mp3 onto a DVD. The audio clip could be played to the jury, and a transcript of the dialogue could also be provided. The exhibit showcases the last minute of Vanessa Sullivan's life as she is calling her dad asking him to leave the garage door open when they arrive, the audio clip cuts out with Vanessa yelling "Danny!" and a crash. The only other cases in AMTA history with an audio exhibit is State v. Bowman and earlier versions of State v. Bancroft and Covington.