Sharon Smith Honored; Jurors Say Knoller Was "Not Believable"

Sharon Smith, the partner of the woman mauled to death by dogs last year, was honored Thursday by a gay lawyers' group for challenging legal precedent by filing a wrongful-death lawsuit as a same-sex partner against the dogs' owners. The Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom's annual dinner coincidentally fell on the same day a Los Angeles jury convicted Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel in Diane Whipple's death. "It seems almost ironic that I would be recognized with any community service award when it is I who want to recognize the community for the support they have given me," Smith said shortly after being greeted with a standing ovation.

Smith said Thursday that she has "crossed two hurdles--standing to sue [for wrongful death in an upcoming trial] and this victory in court." In a landmark decision last July, San Francisco superior court judge James Robertson granted Smith legal standing to sue the dog owners for wrongful death. Current California law entitles only certain categories of people to sue for wrongful death, and gay and lesbian partners are not among them.

Meanwhile, the jurors who convicted Marjorie Knoller of second-degree murder and Robert Noel of involuntary manslaughter said Thursday that Knoller was doomed by her own unreliable testimony. Juror Jeanne Sluiman, 52, said Knoller's testimony "was not believable. It had a lot of inconsistencies." Jurors also said Noel, whose letters about the dogs were admitted as evidence, "doesn't seem to be a very nice person."

Even so, juror Shawn Antonio, 27, said the panel resisted making a decision based on personalities, carefully weighing the evidence instead. The jurors said Knoller's situation was worsened by the behavior of her flamboyant lawyer, Nedra Ruiz, and by a TV interview aired shortly after Whipple's death in which the couple disavowed responsibility for Whipple's death and appeared to blame the victim. "It's not my fault," Knoller said in the interview. "Ms. Whipple had ample opportunity to move into her apartment. She could have just slammed the door shut. I would have." "It was just so out of left field," Antonio said of Knoller's comments. "It showed no remorse."

Sentencing for the couple is set for May 10 in San Francisco. Knoller faces 15 years to life in prison for being convicted of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and keeping a mischievous dog that killed a person. Noel was not present at the time of the attack but was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and keeping a mischievous dog that killed a person. He faces up to four years in prison.