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By TOM JACKSON tjackson Tom Jackson

@tampatrib.com tjackson@tampatrib.com

Published: June 17, 2009

Regarding the ongoing legal adventure of Cathy and Wayne Makowski, anyone coming to This Space looking for a brusque dismissal is browsing in the wrong area.

Having sat - recently enough to recall vividly the sense of hopelessness that accompanies the experience - at the plaintiffs' table in a wrongful death trial, conventional wisdom insisted was unwinnable (it was not), I am scarcely one to dismiss as foolish, misguided or vindictive the activities of parents held in the bands of grief.

Especially parents who sincerely believe, and can support with a documentable argument, that except for the indisputable negligence of others, the events that produced their heartache wouldn't have occurred.

This is not to prejudge the evidence attorneys Paul McKenna and Curt Obront intend to present on the Makowski's behalf, but only to say the complaint contains sufficient validity that Circuit Judge Susan Gardner chose to make its resolution a question for a jury.

Knee-jerk wisdom

The public's pulse on the matter, indicated in the comments section appended to online stories about the trial, indicates the Makowskis have an uphill climb. Among members of the anonymous mob bringing their ill-spelled wisdom to bear, the range of opinion stretches from impatience to hostility.

Aren't the facts plain enough? Threats and insults exchanged in the drive-through line at the Land O' Lakes McDonald's restaurant morphed into a brawl that left 21-year-old Anthony Makowski, a former high school football tight end who answered to "Teddy Bear," dead in the parking lot.

Surveillance video plainly shows Makowski as the aggressor, and the smaller Martin Robles-Taylor, then 25, gaining the upper hand only after he'd been punched and body-slammed. Having reviewed the tape and interviewed witnesses, authorities determined that Robles-Taylor lacked intent to kill with his prolonged choke hold. No charges were filed.

Conventional wisdom suggests this was nothing more than a case of extreme consequences resulting from the indulgence of imprudent bravado. Arguing that there should have been a security detail in place suggests business owners have a responsibility to save brash young men from their excesses. Say the masses: Get real.

Never say never

But conventional wisdom is just that: conventional, and subject to sudden revision. Here, the Rumsfeld Rules apply: There are knowns, unknowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns. Judge Gardner plainly thinks the Makowskis have a right to explore the latter three in an attempt to pin responsibility on the owners of the McDonald's franchise and the adjacent shopping center.

From this side of the courtroom gate, it appears to be a contest the Makowskis have little chance of winning. As one who has sat on the other side, apparently at the bottom of a similarly unconquerable hill, I'll say this: You never know.

Keyword: The Jax Files for Tom Jackson's bonus insights.

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