Latest Judge Arrested for DUI Provides a Good Example

Meet Johnny Seiffert. Or as he is also known, "Your Honor." Justice of the Peace Seiffert was convicted of DUI on Friday after entering a no contest plea according to this article in the Great Falls Tribune. Judge Seiffert had originally entered a plea of Not Guilty, but he changed his plea before visiting judge Michele Snowberger. I wonder if Snowberger lectured him the way I frequently hear judges lecturing people who appear before them for drunk driving. I also wonder whether there was a plea agreement in the case.

Judge Seiffert got a ten day suspended jail sentence, which means that he won't serve any active jail time. That's not a bad deal on a DUI charge - some defendants get a jail sentence on their first DUI, even if their BAC level was right at the minimum required to convict. Was that part of a deal with the prosecutor or did he plunge headlong into the abyss without knowing what he was about to receive?

Part of the sentence included a BS alcohol class that most DUI defendants have to suffer through as part of the usual routine. If Judge Seiffert figures out in the first five minutes that it is a total crock and a waste of time, will he keep sentencing defendants to attend the same course?

The bottom line is that Judge Seiffert made a very wise decision when approached by a trooper from the Montana Highway Patrol. He refused to perform any field sobriety tests or provide a breath sample. His fatal flaw: talking to the cop who arrived at the scene after the one-vehicle rollover. He should have refused to speak to the trooper and left the door open as to who was driving, when the driver was last operating the vehicle, and whether the driver had consumed any alcohol after driving.

Refusal is a common theme when judges and police officers are arrested for DUI. They almost never provide a breath sample or do field sobriety tests. Why not? Well, for starters, they know that both of these "scientific" tests are about as accurate as a Ouija board. As a former Yellowstone County deputy and Red Lodge police officer, Judge Seiffert must have known that the only point of such "tests" is to give the police evidence against you, and that the police can and will determine that you have "failed" no matter how well you do on the tests. Rather than stick his own neck in the noose, Judge Seiffert did the smart thing and followed Nancy Reagan's advice: "just say no".

Judge Seiffert looks like a really nice guy. I'd probably enjoy hearing some of his stories about life out west and his career in law enforcement. We could probably talk at length about DUI cases while enjoying a couple of cold beers and a nice Montana steak. I just hope we would both be able to make it home afterwards without any harassment from his friends on the Highway Patrol. Hopefully Judge Seiffert will take his experience at the hands of the justice system into account when he is hearing cases alledging drunk driving in the future. He still has an appeal pending, and it sounds to me like he might have a decent chance of acquittal on appeal. Best of luck, Your Honor.