Wow. This weekend I have compiled a tremendous list of examples that show why DUI laws do not and cannot work. We have a list of distinguished judges, police officers, and elected or appointed officials with a few prosecutors thrown in for good measure. This is Susan Hamilton. She is the commissioner of the "troubled" DCF, Connecticut's "beleaguered child welfare department". I have no idea whether she is good at her job or whether she is stuck with a rotten bureaucracy. But one thing is for sure - she is really good at apologizing! In an letter to the governor, she stated "It is with overwhelming remorse and embarrassment that I must inform you that I was arrested last evening in my personal vehicle at approximately 7:00 pm for driving under the influence. My behavior was inexcusable, and I deeply regret and apologize for violating your trust and faith in me. My actions reflect poorly on your office, the Department of Children and Families, my family and on me personally and professionally, and there are no words to express how truly sorry I am.... As you know, I have never had any prior arrests or engaged in any criminal behavior in the past, and I promise you and the citizens of this state that I will take all necessary steps to prevent this from ever happening again. Please know that the guilt and shame I feel will not dissipate, and I will do everything I can to rebuild your trust in me."
She has never engaged in any criminal behavior in the past? Or has she just never gotten caught? She looks like a nice lady in this photo from the official state website. I hope she keeps in mind that she is working for the largest conspiracy to distribute recreational narcotics in the state - the state government which controls and profits from all alcohol sales.
Now let's turn to former prosecutor Lydia Wardell, who escaped a "mandatory" jail sentence this week. Instead of serving the statutory 10 day jail sentence in an actual jail, Ms. Wardell will spend some time in an inpatient treatment program. Her admission to the treatment program is thanks to judge Lawrence Lefler exercising his discretion to count such treatment in lieu of jail time. She refused to provide a blood sample.Apparently Ms. Wardell is pretty familiar with the law on DUI. How? Well for starters, this ain't her first ride on the merry-go-round. In 2005, she was convicted of DUI after being caught driving drunk with her two children in the car, aged 3 and 6. She blew a 0.23 that time - looks like she learned from that mistake that you should never give the police a breath or blood sample. Somehow she didn't get any jail time for that offense either, serving 18 months of probation instead of real jail time. But her knowledge of DUI law is not just a result of her numerous drunk driving busts. According to news reports, "she was known for her aggressive prosecution of DUI and other cases as a misdemeanor court supervisor for the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office". A tough prosecutor would have played back tapes of her arguments in sentencing hearings when she had advocated for jail time instead of treatment while she was a prosecutor.
And in the latest case of a judge refusing to provide a breath sample (and then getting off of a DUI charge), we have His Honor Judge James Heath of the Warren County, OH Court of Common Pleas. After allegedly running a red light (charge later dropped), Judge Heath refused to provide a breath sample. His attorney was later reported to have admitted that the judge had consumed "a few glasses of wine." Instead of getting hammered for DUI, Judge Heath was convicted only of the lesser charge of reckless driving. Refusing to provide a breath sample was a smart move on the part of Judge Heath. Another Judge, John F. Kelly, of Pima County Arizona, recently made the news because he provided a breath sample, and was lucky enough that it only registered .063% BAC. In many jurisdictions such as Virginia, a driver can be convicted with a reading as low as .05% BAC. Congratulations Judge Kelly! You won the DUI lottery. One must wonder how nervous the good judge was as he waited for the results of the blood test.
Another refusal case involved Pekin, Illinois Patrolman Andrew J. Thompson. He was stopped after an auto accident which was not his fault on December 19th. He refused to provide a breath sample, but Tazewell County State’s Attorney Stewart Umholtz stated that after a careful review of videotapes, his office (not him personally, mind you, but his office) determined that there was no basis for proceding against the officer, or even to impose a summary suspension of his license. That's a nice break. Mr. Umholtz did, however, have some advice for the rest of the motoring public. "If any citizen is asked by a police officer to take a breath test or a field sobriety test, they should take that test to remove all doubt."
Gee, that's great advice. If you're trying to put people in jail for DUI. If you are experienced in DUI law and practice like Judge Heath, Officer Thompson, and Prosecutor Lydia Wardell, you know that providing a sample for the government to use against you in court is foolish. You might get lucky like Judge Kelly, but if the machine used to convict you is off by even a small amount, you could wind up in jail even though you were in fact innocent. But if you don't provide a sample, you can't be convicted by machine - accurate or inaccurate.
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