Georgia DUI Blog

Donte Stallworth who was arrested March 14, 2009 for DUI manslaughter in Miami has pled Guilty to the charges against him.  This brings closure to the victim’s family and they have been kept in the loop and given their blessing to the sentence.  Mr. Stallworth will receive the following:

1. 30 days of jailtime
2. A LIFETIME license suspension
3. 2 years of house arrest
4. 8 years of probation
5. 1000 hours of community service
6. Alcohol and Drug Counseling

This may sound like a light sentence for the charge, but it is actually quite serious and very much is an appropriate sentence fashioned by people that know the facts of the case much better than of the talking heads on TV or MADD.  There was a lot of mitigation that I am sure played a big part in the outcome.

1. He stopped immediately.
2. He called the police.
3. He admitted he hit the man.
4. He cooperated with the investigation.
5. He took full responsibility.
6. He has compensated the family saving them the long drawn out civil case.
7. The man ran out in front of him apparently trying to catch a bus.
8. The man was not in a crosswalk.
9. He has no criminal history.

The simple truth is that the prosecution may not have been able to prove causation in this case.  Simply put, they had a strong DUI case, but couldn’t necessarily prove that the DUI was the cause of death.  A sober driver in that same spot may have killed him too.  The strength of the case is one of the primary factors considered in plea negotiations and I suspect it weighed heavily here too.

If the prosecutor had insisted on years in jail, then the case would have most certainly gone to trial.  This would have caused more harm to the family and potentially more harm to Donte Stallworth.  The prosecutor would have been between a rock and a hard place, with a mediocre case at best.  That kind of “all or nothing” situation is rarely good for anyone.  I think they did the right thing in the nature of a compromise.

From a public relations standpoint, Donte Stallworth and his lawyers have done a marvelous job  putting this to rest in just a few short months. He has been suspended from the NFL and may never play again, we will see.  It’s a sad case.  There are no winners here.  There is no celebrity treatment here.  However, all these folks that think they know to best run the legal system, need to go to lawschool, sit for the bar exam, then go out and change the world.  Until then, I wish they would leave the legal business to those that know it best…the prosecutor, the defense lawyer and the judge.

SPRING HILL - Authorities made several DUI arrests over the weekend, including a woman who bared her chest to a deputy and a suspect who crashed head-on into a parked car.

The weekend started around 9 p.m. Friday when a deputy was sent to the intersection of Cortez Boulevard and Commercial Way to investigate multiple reports of a reckless driver.

On arrival, the deputy saw traffic driving around a black Mercedes stopped at the intersection. The car was pulled over at Commercial Way and Country Lane and as the deputy stepped out of his cruiser, he noticed the Mercedes was in reverse gear.

Despite the deputy’s shouts to “stop,” the Mercedes continued its path into the cruiser’s front bumper. As the car’s driver, Tina Lopez, 49, stepped out of the car, she grabbed the deputy’s arm multiple times to keep her balance, according to a report.

Lopez showed other signs of intoxication, so she was asked to perform field sobriety tests, which she reportedly failed. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of DUI and, while the deputy waited for backup, “felt it necessary” to expose her chest, a report states.

She was taken to the county jail on charges of DUI and DUI with property damage, where she reportedly supplied a blood alcohol level of .111 and .108. Florida law presumes intoxication at .08.

On Saturday, shortly before 1 a.m., a deputy performing an off duty detail pulled over a car on Commercial Way for reportedly traveling 83 mph in a 60 mph zone.

A traffic deputy performed field sobriety tests on the car’s driver, Janice Adcock, 49, which indicated she was impaired, according to a report.

Adcock was taken to jail on suspicion of DUI, where she reportedly provided a blood alcohol level of .169 and .165.

Two hours later, in Brooksville, a resident of Oak Street was startled awake when a motorist crashed into a parked car. The witness stepped outside to find the driver, later identified by police as Ian Darby, passed out behind the wheel.

Police determined that Darby had driven west instead of east on the one-way street at the time of the collision, which caused “major” damage.

Darby, 26, was arrested on a charge of DUI with property damage.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090331/ap_on_fe_st/odd_bar_stool_dui;_ylt=At0Y0×70vCM4zD6ouscmhMHtiBIF

Authorities in Ohio say a man has been charged with drunken driving after crashing his motorized bar stool. Police inNewark, 30 miles east of Columbus, say when they responded to a report of a crash with injuries on March 4, they found a man who had wrecked a bar stool powered by a deconstructed lawn mower.

Twenty-eight-year Kile Wygle was hospitalized for minor injuries. Police say he was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated after he told an officer at the hospital that he had consumed 15 beers. Wygle told police his motorized bar stool can go up to 38 mph.

Wygle has pleaded not guilty and has requested a jury trial.

     Charles Barkley was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol early on the morning of December 31, 2008.  An officer with a law enforcement task force that targets drunken driving saw the former NBA star run a stop sign around 1:30 a.m., said Gilbert police Lt. Eric Shuhandler.  Barkley declined to submit to a breath test but was given a blood test, which is common in Arizona where the police don’t just take “No” for an answer.  The results weren’t immediately available.

     After Barkley was processed, he was cited and released.  He left in a cab, Shuhandler said.  Shuhandler said there was nothing remarkable about Barkley’s arrest and that it is customary to release people after they’ve been arrested on suspicion of DUI.  “There was nothing unusual about how he was taken into custody,” Shuhandler said.  “He was treated exactly like we treat anybody else.”  Barkley was arrested in Scottsdale’s Old Town area, one of the trendiest spots in the Phoenix metro area.  Barkley played 16 NBA seasons for the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets, and played on the USA Olympic “Dream Team” in 1992 and 1996.  He was an 11-time NBA All-Star and league MVP in 1993.

     On September 11, 2008, Eric Carmen, the man that brought you ’80s hits “Hungry Eyes” and “All By Myself,” was arrested for DUI in Ohio after slamming his car into a fire hydrant. The singer, who first gained national attention with the not-so-salacious “Go All the Way” when he was front man for The Raspberries, handed the arresting police officers his credit card instead of a drivers license and then blew a .23, nearly three times the legal limit in the Buckeye State. According to the police report, Carmen had a half-empty bottle of vodka in the front seat.

     Heather Locklear was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a controlled substance in the upscale Santa Barbara area, authorities said on September 28, 2008. Locklear, 47, was pulled over by a California Highway Patrol officer on Saturday afternoon, September 27th, after a resident reported seeing the actress leaving a parking lot and “driving erratically,” CHP spokesman Tom Marshall said.

     The officer noticed Locklear’s car parked on a state highway and blocking a lane in Montecito, a wealthy community about 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles. She was believed to be alone in the car, Marshall said. In talking with her, the officer determined that she seemed to be under the influence of something, Marshall said.

     Locklear was taken to the police station where she was tested for alcohol and drugs. She was booked at 7:00 P.M. on suspicion of driving under the influence of prescription medication. She was later released from custody. Calls to Locklear’s publicists were not immediately returned. Locklear in June checked into a medical clinic to seek treatment for anxiety and depression. Last year, she got a divorce from Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora after 11 years of marriage.

ROBERTSDALE, Ala. (AP)—Former NFL star quarterback Ken Stabler was arrested and charged with reckless driving and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Stabler, now a radio analyst for University of Alabama football, was released from jail on $1,000 bond nearly 13 hours after his arrest, police said Monday.

The 62-year-old ex-Crimson Tide quarterback was pulled over for a traffic offense about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, said Brian Middleton, assistant chief of police. He declined to specify what led police to pull Stabler over in the town near the Gulf coast.

Stabler did not immediately return a message left at his office Monday.

Athletic director Mal Moore said it “would be disrespectful and irresponsible” to comment on the allegations against Stabler until the facts are all known.

“Kenny has always been supportive of Alabama athletics, and it’s in times like these that his friends need to be supportive of him,” Moore said.

Steve Gowan, senior vice president of Learfield Communications, which owns multimedia rights for Alabama broadcasts, also said it was too early to comment on Stabler’s situation.

“Our thoughts are with Kenny and his family at this time,” Gowan said. “In circumstances of this nature, our primary concern is for Kenny’s well-being.”

Stabler pleaded guilty to drunken driving following a 2001 arrest in Orange Beach. Authorities dropped drug and reckless driving charges under a plea deal. In 1995, Stabler pleaded no contest to a DUI charge in nearby Escambia County, Fla.

Stabler led the Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl title in 1977, and also played for the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints during a 15-year NFL career.

He was on Alabama teams that won two Southeastern Conference titles, a national championships in 1965 and went undefeated in 1966. He has been the Tide’s color analyst the past decade.

                                                       UPDATE

ROBERTSDALE, Ala. (AP) — Former Alabama and NFL quarterback Ken Stabler has been found not guilty of drunken driving charges in south Alabama.

Stabler was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after being stopped shortly after midnight June 8 on Alabama 59 in Robertsdale, near Mobile Bay.

After more than three hours of testimony, acting Municipal Judge James Sweet issued his verdict.

“I just don’t think the city has met its burden of proof,” Sweet said.

Stabler, 62, was driving north at 12:32 a.m. when officer Tyler Kane stopped him, according to testimony. Kane, who is now a state trooper, said he was by the side of the road making another stop when Stabler’s vehicle passed within a few feet of him.

Kane said he stopped Stabler’s vehicle.  “His speech was a little bit slurred and I could detect a strong odor of alcohol in the vehicle,” Kane said.

He said Stabler refused to take a breath test. Sweet ruled that police did not observe Stabler for the entire time before the defendant was asked to take the test and would not allow the refusal to be entered as evidence.

Defense attorney Mark Polson said the acquittal will allow Stabler to move on.

“What a relief. Ken has just suffered through this whole episode and this will let him get on with the rest of his life,” Polson told the Press-Register of Mobile.

Stabler played for Alabama from 1965-67 and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 1968. He played for the Raiders, the Houston Oilers and the New Orleans Saints before retiring in 1984.

He has been a color analyst on Alabama football broadcast for 10 years but is taking a leave of absence this season.

     On May 4, 2006, Kennedy crashed his 1997 Ford Mustang convertible into a barricade on Capitol Hill at 2:45AM.  An official who was not on the scene said the congressman had appeared intoxicated when he crashed his car, but Kennedy claimed that he was merely disoriented from prescription medications Ambien and Phenergan.  There was an unconfirmed report that Kennedy was seen drinking at the nearby Hawk & Dove bar prior the accident.  Kennedy also stated to officers that he was “late for a vote.” However, the last vote of the night had occurred almost six hours earlier.

     The standard field sobriety tests were not administered, and Kennedy was not arrested on the spot.  Incredibly, Kennedy was driven home by an officer.  On May 5, 2006, Kennedy admitted he has an addiction to prescription medication and announced
he would be re-admitting himself to a drug rehabilitation facility at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota where he had sought treatment for prior addictions.  He has stated that he has no recollection of the car crash.   

     On June 5, 2006 Kennedy was released from drug rehab.  After being asked if he expected any special treatment from authorities, Kennedy expressed that he hoped they would treat him as if he “were an African-American in Anacostia”.  On June 13, 2006, Kennedy made a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of prescription drugs.  He was sentenced to one year probation and a fine of $350.   Two of the three charges (reckless driving and failure to exhibit a driving permit) were dismissed. He was also ordered to attend a rehabilitation program that includes weekly urine tests, twice-weekly meetings with a probation officer, near-daily Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and a weekly meeting of recovering addicts.

     “30 Rock” star and former “Saturday Night Live” regular Tracy Morgan was
arrested in predawn hours in November, 2006, in New York on charges of drunken driving.  The 38-year-old comic was charged at the 33rd Precinct.  Morgan was also on probation in Los Angeles for a DUI conviction. He was charged in January, 2006, for driving with a blood-alcohol level of .13 — well above the .08 legal limit — and a month later he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge.
     The comic was sentenced to 36 months of probation and ordered to attend an
alcohol-education program.  Police sources reported that Morgan was stopped at 4:38 A.M. in the Bronx and “was unable to maintain a position in a lane of traffic.”   Morgan was a “Saturday Night Live” cast member from 1996 to 2003, and was known for such recurring characters as Dominican Lou, Mrs. Parker and Captain Munclair Vanderhousen III.   He left the show when NBC offered him a chance to develop his own “Tracy Morgan Show,” but that venture was short-lived.   Morgan has nevertheless stayed busy, appearing in such films as “Little Man” with the Wayans brothers, and “Head of State” with Chris Rock, before returning to TV in “30 Rock.”

     GLENDALE, Calif. —  In October, 2006, Haley Joel Osment pleaded no contest
to misdemeanor drunken driving and drug possession charges resulting from a July accident in which he crashed his car into a mailbox.
     Superior Court Judge John Doyle sentenced the 18-year-old actor to three years probation and ordered Osment to spend 60 hours in an alcohol rehabilitation and education program, as well as attend at least 26 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings over a six-month period.  Osment, who didn’t attend the court hearing, also must pay $1,500 in fines.  The actor’s attorney, David Wood, entered the no contest pleas on his client’s behalf to one count each of misdemeanor driving under the influence and misdemeanor marijuana possession. Two other charges — another misdemeanor DUI and a vehicle code infraction — were dropped by prosecutors.  Osment fractured a rib and injured his shoulder when he crashed and flipped his 1995 Saturn in La Canada Flintridge on July 20. No one else was in the car, which hit a mailbox mounted on a brick base.

     A Texas state lawmaker instrumental in the passage of legislation increasing penalties on drunk drivers was himself arrested late Wednesday (April 30, 2008) for driving while intoxicated (DWI). Texas State House Transportation Chairman Mike Krusee (R-Round Rock) now faces the special $3000 “driver responsibility fee” that he rushed into law in June 2003.

     “Krusee’s drunk driving, and placing our families in danger, is just yet one more disappointment from an elected official who always ignores the public,” Sal Costello, founder of People for Efficient Transportation, told TheNewspaper.

     According to Krusee’s arrest report, state trooper Michael A. Scheffler spotted a black 2007 BMW 530i weaving on Anderson Mill Road near Highway 183 at 10:13pm. Scheffler also noted that the BMW’s registration expired in December 2007 and initiated a traffic stop. The trooper noted Krusee manifested many of the standard indicators of intoxication, including the “strong odor” of alcohol on Krusee, “the driver’s eyelids were red and watery and his eyelids were droopy,” and the failure to pass sobriety tests. Krusee allegedly refused to take a breathalyzer, which means that unless his attorney files an appeal within fifteen days he will be deemed automatically guilty of refusal. Starting June 10, his license would be suspended until he pays a $125 reinstatement fee any time after October 28.

     In his second trial for the same offense, Krusee faces the $3000 driver responsibility fee, a judicially imposed fine of up to $2000 and between three days and six months in jail. Generally, first-time offenders receive probation instead of jail time. This probation involves reporting in to a social worker monthly, attending a 12-hour educational course, performing between 24 and 100 hours of mandatory community service, submitting to various evaluations and attendance at a “Victim Impact Panel.” Each of these additional requirements comes with its own set of additional fees and costs.

     Krusee is one of the most outspoken advocates of toll roads in the state and had been rumored in line for appointment to the Texas Highway Commission. Krusee is not running for re-election.

Richie Sambora has been arrested for DUI in Laguna Beach, California.  According to news reports, he was cooperative with officers and was arrested without incident.  He reportedly took some field sobriety tests prior to getting arrested.  It appears that in addition to the DUI, he will also be charged with child endangerment since his daughter and another juvenile with him.   The Nanny drove the girls home.  Sambora has reportedly checked into rehab.

In Georgia, if convicted, he could actually get 3 DUI convictions for this one episode and lose his license for 5 years as a “habitual violator.”  DUI and DUI child endangerment charges do not merge and count as separate convictions.  I don’t know what the law is in California, but someone had better refer this man to Lawrence Taylor (after he gets out of rehab).

Georgia legislator, Ben Harbin, was arrested on Sunday for DUI. He was released on $1200.00 bond. Read the story from the AJC here. Here is a quote from the story.

At about the time of the crash, Robby Russ, a waiter at the Standard Food & Spirits, heard what he said sounded like a boom and looked out through the large window of the bar to see a utility pole “crooked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.” Russ, 41, said he ran out to help. He said Harbin was coherent and without any visible signs of injuries. He wasn’t in “bad shape on the intoxication level,” said Russ, who has been tending bars for 18 years. “I know he’s been charged with DUI, and I know he’s an important guy. But he wasn’t wasted,” he said. “He wasn’t slurring his speech or falling over his face. He composed himself very well.”

Sounds pretty good, right? Check out this arrest photo. Not bad.

The 58-year-old singer was arrested in December 2002 after she was seen driving the wrong way on a road in Tucson. She was found to be more than two times the legal limit, and pleaded no contest to a resulting charge. She was allowed to enter her plea telephonically and did not have to return to Arizona for either that court appearance or to serve her sentence.  She was allowed to serve 48 hours at a jail in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Prosecutors in Tucson, Arizona, later fought to have the veteran star incarcerated again, claiming she was allowed to come and go as she pleased during her 48- hour stay at the Greenwich, Connecticut facility.  Arizona Magistrate T. Jay Cranshaw initially agreed that Ross had failed to serve her allotted time, saying she left jail three times and had been released an hour early. But Judge Cranshaw reconsidered his ruling after appeals by Ross™ lawyers.  In the end she escaped returning to jail again on the DUI charge after the judge ruled she had already completed her two-day sentence.

 Back in 2003 country singer Glen Campbell pleaded guilty to extreme drunk driving and leaving the scene of an accident.  Under the plea agreement in Maricopa County Superior Court, Campbell was sentenced to 10 days in jail. He was eligible for work furlough after 48 hours and served 75 hours of community service.

  An aggravated assault charge was dropped.  Campbell was arrested in November near his Phoenix home after leaving the scene of a minor traffic accident. He was accused of kneeing a police officer after being taken into custody. The officer wasn’t hurt.

  Extreme drunk driving applies to a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 or higher. Police said breath tests on Campbell showed he had a 0.20 blood alcohol level at the time of his arrest. The legal limit for Arizona drivers is 0.08.

  Campbell blamed his arrest on the accidental mixing of alcohol and a prescription anti-anxiety drug.

  Cheney’s first DWI conviction came in November 1962 when he was 21. According to the docket from Cheyenne’s Municipal Court, Cheney was arrested for drunkenness and “operating motor vehicle while intoxicated.” A Cheyenne Police Judge found Cheney guilty of the two charges and hit him with a 30-day suspension of his driver’s license. Cheney also had to forfeit a $150 bond posted at the time of his arrest. Further information about the case - such as the defendant’s blood alcohol content or whether Cheney was jailed following the arrest - is unavailable since other court records from that period have been destroyed, according to Wyoming officials.

  Details of Cheney’s second Wyoming arrest in July 1963, have also fallen victim to time and records destruction practices at the local Municipal Court. But a police arrest card maintained by the Rock Springs Police Department shows that Cheney was fined $100 for his second DWI conviction. The card lists the charge against Cheney, who was then working as a groundman laying power lines, as “11-44,” the criminal code classification for drunken driving, according to Police Chief Neil Kourbelas. At the time of the Rock Springs arrest, Kourbelas said that local cops and judges would not have known that young Cheney was a repeat offender. The police department, Kourbelas said, “wouldn’t have had the ability to automatically check with other jurisdictions to find out if anyone had prior arrests or convictions. We could have arrested Jack the Ripper back then and had no idea what he had done.”

Since that second Wyoming arrest, Cheney has not been cited for DUI.

  The future President was charged with DUI on September 4, 1976, near the family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine.  He entered a guilty plea the following month, was fined $150, and had his privilege to drive in Maine suspended.  He did not have to deal with jail time, community service, a substance abuse evaluation, or suspension of his Texas license…like similarly situated people today.

The below was posted on the Fox News website.

Ann S. Banaszewski, 45, of Wheaton, was arrested Monday evening while driving away from a fast-food restaurant in the suburb 20 miles west of Chicago, police said. Three children were inside Banaszewski’s van when someone called police to report a suspected intoxicated driver, said Deputy Chief Tom Meloni.

Meloni would not release Banaszewski’s blood-alcohol level. He also declined to give the children’s ages or say whether Banaszewski had a previous record.

She was released on a personal recognizance bond. The DuPage County Circuit Court had no information Wednesday about a whether a court appearance had been scheduled.

A message left at Banaszewski’s home was not immediately returned and Meloni did not know whether she had an attorney.

Scalia, who began serving on the Supreme Court in 1986, has nine children.

The Georgia DUI blog has learned that attorney Don Ramsell will be representing her.  We don’t look for this case to be like many other high-profile DUI cases where the accused immediately comes out with an apology, a guilty plea and rehab. Ramsell, a board-certified member of the National College for DUI Defense, has a reputation as being a fighter.

OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND Mothers Against Drunk Driving praised Ocean City Police on Jan. 11 for officers handling of the Oct. 29 traffic stop and non-arrest of Delaware State Rep. John C. Atkins. MADD representatives were particularly quick to support decisions made by Officer Douglas A. Smith, OCPD’s toughest DUI enforcement officer, who along with trainee Natalie R. Smolko, performed the stop.

OCPD came under fire when news broke that Smith and Smolko stopped Atkins, who was swerving in his car and blew a .14 in his preliminary breath test, but decided against making a DUI arrest. We feel very confident that the officers followed the proper procedures and protocols, said Caroline Cash, executive director for the Chesapeake Region of MADD.
The decision to not arrest was made based on Atkins speaking clearly and not fumbling when retrieving his license and stepping out of his vehicle. The fact that he blew a .14 was irrelevant in Smith’s decision not to arrest since PBT readings are not admissible in court, Ocean City Police Chief Bernadette DiPino said.

It’s allegedly on this sole principle of Maryland law that the Ocean City, Maryland Police Department claims they had no grounds to arrest Rep. John Atkins. Even if we accept the unverifiable and unlikely claim that the police detected no other indicia of impairment (unlike any other person I have ever represented who was anywhere close to .14), we do have the following clues:

1) His car was swerving between two lanes of traffic.

2) He reeked of alcohol.

3) There were several empty beer bottles on the floor of the vehicle.

4) His eyes were glassy and bloodshot.

5) He admitted to drinking alcohol that evening.

These facts would have been more than enough to justify an arrest in Georgia, and when you add in a portable breath test result that was positive, which is what we call it when you blow a .14 in Georgia, I know of no police officer in Georgia who would not have arrested a regular citizen under the same circumstances.

So, despite the Ocean City Police denials that there were any other clues of Atkins intoxication besides the portable breath test result, the only people sufficiently clueless to believe their claims are the guardians of morality - MADD.

Now if only the Delaware State Police can explain why they sent an officer down to Ocean City to drive the legislator and his wife home.

See story here.  Another high-profile DUI that should have been contested that wasn’t for public relations reasons.