Georgia DUI Blog

     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.

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.