Judge dismisses case against district attorney

YATES COUNTY--Acting County Judge Dennis Bender dismissed a case against District Attorney Valerie Gardner Sept. 22 in regards to plea offers made during the Sabrina Livermore case. Resident Robert Hawley alleged that Gardner only provided two plea bargain offers when he filed for them under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). Hawley claimed he obtained two other ones from a different source, while Gardner claimed the only two official offers made she provided to Hawley.
However, Hawley filed for an Article 78 proceeding, which would be intended to acquire the documents in question. Since Hawley already had the documents in question, Bender dismissed the case, as it was not his duty to find fault with how he acquired the offer letters.
Livermore was sentenced to three to nine years in March for the fatal alcohol related crash in 2014 that killed Dundee resident Roxan Meier. She pled guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide.