was just "Scooter trash."

That was what it boiled down to in the charges against United States Represenative (R-SD) William Janklow.

Janklow a 4 term South Dakota Governor and later US Representative ran a stop light and wabashed a motorcyclist killing him.

Janklow has long had a bad habit of driving at speeds many miles an hour over the stated limit. He has been cited many times for speeding and who knows how many he weaseled out of because the officer was afraid to ticket him. This terrible accident was inevitable.

I lived near the State Capitol of South Dakota and many times I was passed by Governor Janklow like I was backing up. We used to laugh about it but it was only a matter of time until something of this magnitude happened.

He was sentenced to a paltry 100 days in jail for this incident. He served his time and was released.

He now faces civil charges from Randy Scott's family. He will most likely walk on that too as they have to prove that he was not on government business. Pretty tough to alledge he was out for a joy ride. It was a sad end to a brilliant political career. He did much for the State of South Dakota.

Point being, rank has it's privelege. Pre trial Info below:

Janklow, a former South Dakota governor elected to Congress last year, is charged with manslaughter and three misdemeanors for a fatal traffic accident near Trent on August 16.

His trial is due to start December 1. The manslaughter count carries a possible 10 years in prison and $10,000 fine if he is convicted.

Authorities allege that Janklow was driving a Cadillac at 71 mph in a 55-mph zone and had just run a stop sign at a rural intersection when the motorcycle ridden by Randy Scott collided with the car, killing Scott, 55, of Hardwick, Minnesota.

Janklow, who did not attend Monday's hearing, suffered a broken hand and bleeding on the brain.

In a sworn statement filed Monday, Janklow, 64, says he "knew this intersection very well and had traveled through the intersection occasionally for at least the last 20 years." He also says the intersection had stop signs for north-south traffic. Janklow was traveling south that day.

Judge Rodney Steele said the law does not allow testimony about Janklow's driving record, including the tickets and accidents, unless he brings up the subject himself. Including that testimony would do more harm by prejudicing jurors than it would to help the state's case, Steele said.

But the judge said testimony about the close call at the same intersection where Scott died has value that outweighs any prejudice it may create with jurors.

That testimony, by Jennifer Walters of Trent, is key to the state's case, said Bill Ellyson, a deputy prosecutor.

According to a sworn statement, Walters said that on December 29, 2002, Janklow nearly hit her family's pickup.

She said they had just gone through the intersection headed east when she heard tires screeching and gravel sliding and saw a white car cross the intersection going north.

"I know a split-second difference would have cost my family and myself our lives. I believe that the driver of the car did not attempt to stop until they saw us, only then braking to avoid a collision," Walters wrote.

She reported the near-miss and was told that a sheriff's deputy had stopped the car and found the driver was Janklow, who was then in his fourth term as governor.

Walters said she didn't file a complaint because of the time off work it would require.

"I also believed that it would be a waste of my time to press the issue any further as he was Bill Janklow, and I felt nothing would ever be done anyways," she wrote.

Janklow's lawyer, Ed Evans, argued Monday that Janklow was not ticketed and there was no proof that he was the one who went through the intersection.

Because Janklow was governor at the time, "it heightens the possibility of unfair prejudice," he said.