
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 8, 1990                   TAG: 9003082097
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: associated press
DATELINE: ANCHORAGE, ALASKA                                 LENGTH: Short

HAZELWOOD NOT DRUNK, COURT TOLD

After losing a bid for dismissal of all charges against Joseph Hazelwood, the defense called three witnesses who said he appeared sober hours before his tanker caused the nation's worst oil spill.

Among the witnesses was a florist who said she took Hazelwood's order for Easter flowers to be sent to his home in Huntington, N.Y., about six hours before the skipper boarded the ship. The other witnesses were marine terminal guards.

Superior Court Judge Karl Johnstone on Wednesday showed keen interest in a defense argument on why the Exxon Valdez skipper should be cleared, but rejected a motion to cut short the trial and acquit him.

Defense attorney Dick Madson, in arguing for acquittal, raised a new legal point: Hazelwood is innocent of operating a vessel while intoxicated because he was not at the helm when it went aground March 24.

He noted that Hazelwood turned the ship over to a third mate about 10 minutes before it went off course, struck Bligh Reef and dumped nearly 11 million gallons of Alaska crude in scenic Prince William Sound.

by CNB