Tag Archives: Mile-Hi Skydiving

(Editor note: Below is guest contributor Robert Yoder’s transcribed notes, handwritten while observing five days of courtroom testimony in the case of Citizens for Quiet Skies vs Mile-Hi Skydiving, Inc.
Robert also has an aviation background that includes:
~1100 skydiving jumps, Parachute rigger, Private SEL & glider-aero-tow.)
____________

Notes from attending:

District Court, County of Boulder CO
Case 2013CV31563
Plaintiff:
Citizens for Quiet Skies
Kimberly Gibbs
Timothy Lim
Robert Yates
Suzanne Webel
John Behrens
Carla Behrens
Richard Dauer
Defendant:
Mile-Hi Skydiving, Inc.

Introduction:

This is pretty much verbatim from my hand-written notes.
There may be errors due to misunderstanding what was said, omissions,
and difficulty reading my own handwriting from two weeks ago.
The detail will likely lessen as the week dragged on and I got burned out
with taking notes.

Each section will begin with a 24-hour timestamp.

I will use parentheses to insert my own comments in the text, and will
sometimes add explanations and/or links.

I am not going to elaborate on each plaintiff witness noise complaints,
but here is a summary of the most common ones:
– Destroys enjoyment of being outdoors.
– Makes it impossible to hold conversation outdoors.
– Can be heard indoors.
– Can be heard in basement.
– Cannot concentrate on mental tasks.

Note this is a bench trial, i.e. there is no jury, just a judge.

Typical witness testimony is in 3 parts:
1. Direct – Questioned by the attorney who called them to be a witness.
2. Cross – Questioned by the opposing attorney.
3. Redirect – Questioned again by “friendly” attorney to
smooth over damage from the cross.
In rare cases, the judge asked a few questions directly of the witness,
then allowed both sides to ask followup questions.

Plaintiff witnesses were called the first 2.5 days.
Defense witnesses were called the last 2.5 days.

In the case of an *expert* witness, there would be an initial set of
questioning from both sides to establish the qualifications of the witness.
Then if the judge approved, the expert testimony would proceed.

Witness home addresses were stated in court, but have been removed here.

CQS Plaintiff & Witness locations / LMO Parachute Operations Area
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