Opinion ID: 1251259
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Deposition Testimony of Micheline Ratigan.

Text: Micheline Ratigan is married to Ratigan and is the mother of Ratigan Jr. Lee and Ratigan Jr. were already present at the Sundowner Bar when she and Ratigan arrived on the evening of September 14, 1993. While seated at the bar, Micheline Ratigan watched her husband and son play pool with Smith and his companion. During the game, Smith was loud and obnoxious and appeared to Micheline Ratigan to be intoxicated or on drugs. Just very weird. When the game was over, she observed Smith place her son in a headlock and tease him, calling him a young punk. She thought that Smith's actions were hurting her son physically. She observed Ratigan intercede and buy a drink for Smith and his companion in order to calm things down; Ratigan then returned to the bar and sat down next to her. Sometime later, Ratigan and Micheline Ratigan realized that their son was no longer in the tavern. Ratigan got up from the bar and walked out the front door of the tavern to look for him. Approximately 2 minutes later, Micheline Ratigan walked to the front door and looked outside. She observed her son fighting with Smith's companion. She did not immediately see her husband, but called his name and then observed him running to the aid of their son. The next thing she recalled was hearing a gunshot and observing her husband come into the tavern, stating that he had been shot. She testified that minutes transpired from the time she first observed the fight through the window until her husband returned to the tavern and that Champion was standing behind the bar during this period.