Court hears Martin Heidgen request for appeal

A lawyer for Martin Heidgen - found guilty in the 2005 wrong-way, drunken-driving death of 7-year-old flower girl Katie Flynn and her limo driver - argued Monday to have the conviction overturned as her parents watched and seethed.

"We never get used to this," said Katie's father, Neil Flynn, describing how he wakes up daily, realizing his daughter's not there. "He murdered my daughter and now he's dragging us down here [to the courthouse] again."

Heidgen's attorney contends he should not have been convicted of depraved-indifference murder - a statute that is rarely used in drunken-driving cases and that resulted in his sentence of 18 years to life.

Katie, of Lido Beach, was returning with the rest of her family from a wedding in Bayville when she and limousine driver Stanley Rabinowitz, 59, of Farmingdale, were killed in the crash caused by Heidgen, then 24, of Valley Stream.

Heidgen had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood as he drove the wrong way along the Meadowbrook Parkway for 2 1/2 miles.

Attorney Jillian Harrington, who filed Heidgen's appeal, told four Appellate Division judges that his 2006 conviction by a Nassau jury should be thrown out.

Harrington argued that Heidgen, who crashed his pickup, deserved a conviction of manslaughter, a lesser offense, at the most because he was too drunk to act with depraved indifference, a higher level of negligence. She said he was "convicted of the wrong crime."

The judges barraged Harrington and the prosecutor who won the conviction, Maureen McCormick, with questions.

Associate Justice Peter Skelos, who presided, noted that Heidgen eventually perceived he was going the wrong way and kept going.

"That's not depravity?" he asked.

Harrington said Heidgen slowed down as he realized something was wrong.

A classic legal example of depraved-indifference murder is someone shooting into a crowd, not intending to kill anyone in particular, but also not caring about the possibility.

McCormick, head of the Nassau district attorney's vehicular crimes bureau, said Heidgen "was aware enough to make a cell phone call."

"This defendant is depraved throughout his continued driving on the Meadowbrook Parkway," McCormick said.

Former District Attorney Denis Dillon, now deceased, took the unusual step of charging Heidgen with depraved-indifference murder. His successor, Kathleen Rice, pursued the charge.

The judges will issue a written decision at a later date.