Cabey v. Goetz (4/96) Was Bernhard Goetz a racist or a helpless victim when he shot four teenagers on a New York City subway in December 1984? That was the central issue in the civil lawsuit filed against Goetz by Darrell Cabey, one of the victims in the attack. Over the years, the Goetz case was seized by advocates on opposing sides of urban issues like crime, race, gun control, and vigilante justice. Much of the national attention surrounded his 1987 criminal trial. Goetz, who did not testify during the trial, was acquitted of attempted murder charges. He was convicted on a weapons charge and served 8-1/2 months in jail. The December 22, 1984, shooting left Cabey paralyzed and brain damaged. He sued for $25 million in compensatory damages and a similar amount in punitive damages. Cabey's case was simple: Goetz was a racist who overreacted when he needlessly shot the four black youths. After wounding Cabey, Goetz walked up to the bleeding youth and delivered the paralyzing gunshot, announcing, "You don't look too bad, here's another." Goetz's defense was just as simple: He fired in self-defense when approached by four muggers who tried to shake him down for $5. During the trial, Cabey's lawyer Ron Kuby bolstered his case by using Goetz's own words against him. Goetz did not show much remorse when he testified for the first time about the shooting. He acknowledged he had thought about using his keys to gouge out the eyes of one of the wounded youths. And he was asked about his remark that Cabey's mother should have had an abortion, and that the shooting "could be looked on" as a public service. "I was trying to get as many of them as I could," he also said. After Goetz was called to the witness stand by Cabey's lawyers, he was expected to testify again when the defense presented its case. But he didn't. The defense presented only two witnesses. Newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin testified about an interview he had with Cabey almost a year after the shooting. Breslin said Cabey told him that three other young men on the train intended to rob Goetz because ''he looked like easy bait.'' The other witness was Dr. Bernard Yudowitz, a forensic psychiatrist, who testified about how intensely people can react if they believe their lives are in danger. Verdict On April 24, 1996, the jury found that Goetz acted recklessly and deliberately inflicted emotional distress on Cabey. The jury awarded Cabey $43 million in damages -- $18 million for past and future pain and suffering, and $25 million in punitive damages. But Cabey is not likely to see anywhere near that amount since Goetz has little money. In such cases it is common for the court to garnish 10 percent of the defendant's wages for 20 years.