in a newark, new jersey, family courtroom susan watson s lawyers asked the judge to dismiss the case against her. one of the advantages that we have in this hearing which we don t normally have in juvenile proceedings is that we can actually look into the future. we can look beyond 1971 and we can see the person that susan watson is and has become. the judge tried to determine if susan was rehabilitated. susan did not speak on her own behalf, but those close to her did. including the man she married. i met susan john amos told the court he is devoted to an upstanding woman. i can honestly say that she has led a very sober and clean lifestyle. john wanted the courtroom to learn something from this terrible incident. what i wanted people to understand is that this was a tragedy that happened to a family that was going through a great deal of difficulty, and we