Remembering Richard Essen

An obituary I am not going to write.

I will leave that to my friend Ellie Brecher, who did a yeoman's piece on Richard in Friday's Herald.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/5min/story/1364849.html Or the Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126024543842381413.html

I just wanted to say goodbye to a larger than life personable gentleman who made my radio show, and Steve Kane's, so much more entertaining with his presence.

As Richard's wife says, in some respects, defending DUI clients was more reprehensible then defending drug dealers. But Mr. Essen did so with dignity, class, and the willingness to challenge and defy the establishment, with its litany of supposed perfect intoxilysers, untainted blood draws, and esteemed regulatory standards. By being a good lawyer, Richard found flaws anywhere and everywhere. He found reasonable doubt where others did not. And today we all prosper from his work. But though I have been to his office, and discussed countless cases with him, I really did not know Richard as a lawyer.

I pretty much met him after his days in court were over, and he would come on to my radio show as a guest, or host his own hour with Steve Kane on Fridays. Effervescent, energetic, and eclectic, with a mind that was wandering and filled with wonder, he was an enchanting person to chat with, break bread with. Proud to have been a lawyer, a dad, an author, and a philanthropist, he was also a salesman, marketeer for lawyers, and a pioneer in challenging the establishment.

He died too young, a week ago at only 70 years of age. And I add in passing, you have to watch yourself. No matter how good a mind you have, and Richard was in Mensa, you have to maintain your body. Goodbye, my friend.

Georgia Court Rules Lawn Mower 'Not' Vehicle

Now I know what type of transportation to use the next time I decide to drink and use something motorized. John Deere, where are you?

Reporter Greg Bluestein reporting for the AP cites a Georgia Supreme Court ruling this evening, stating: 'A riding lawn mower may have four wheels, a powerful engine and can cost as much as a used car. If it's stolen, however, the Georgia Supreme Court concluded Monday that it's not a motor vehicle.'

The AP says the 4-3 decision overturned the conviction of Franklin Lloyd Harris, who was convicted of felony motor vehicle theft- after he loaded a Toro riding mower in 2006 from a Home Depot in Dalton into his van and sped away. Because Harris was a repeat offender, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. I did not know Judge Levenson worked the Georgia courts :-)

Public defender Michael McCarthy told the justices that while Harris should still be charged with theft, he shouldn't be punished as if he had stolen a car. A riding mower is many things, a modern mechanical marvel among them, but McCarthy said it's not a motor vehicle under state law.

Prosecutors countered that the state defines a "motor vehicle" as a "self-propelled" device, and there's no doubt a riding mower meets that standard.

The state's top court agreed, concluding in an 18-page decision that the sentence should be overturned because the purpose of a riding mower is to cut grass, not transport people. They spent 18 pages debating this? Wow. I guess the Georgia Courts have lots of time on their hands.

"To be sure, a riding lawn mower is capable of transporting people or property and of driving on the street for short stretches," Justice David Nahmias wrote in the opinion. "But that is not what the machine is designed for or how it is normally used."

In a dissent, Justice Harold Melton argued that Georgia lawmakers specifically defined "motor vehicle" broadly enough to include riding mowers. It warned that the ruling "has interpreted the statute in a manner that creates conflict and leads to an absurd result."

The case, which lawyers said set a precedent in Georgia, comes as other courts around the country grapple with similar concerns about whether riding lawnmowers and similar devices should be classified as vehicles.

There was no discussion in the ruling over how the state defines motor vehicles for the purpose of alcohol-related arrests.

That's still a blurry issue in Georgia, where it's a criminal offense to operate a car, truck or other "motor vehicle" while under the influence of alcohol. Despite the Supreme Court's ruling, prosecutors might still pursue charges against those driving under the influence on mowers, too.

That issue also has drawn headlines across the country, as prosecutors from West Virginia to Oregon have charged suspects with driving under the influence after catching them prowling the streets on lawnmowers, golf carts and even a tricycle.

Time for a DUI Court in Broward County

by Norm Kent

Here I go again, with one of those moderate and sensible proposals which have led to people calling me too liberal for years. I can live with it. Ideas should be debated robustly.

You see, by this column, I propose our courts initiate a one year project where we adopt a policy of an alternative to incarceration for DUI's. I suggest we mandate that anyone arrested and charged with a DUI be immediately screened for alcoholism within fourteen days of their initial incarceration.

Once released from custody, the accused defendant must be evaluated by skilled clinicians to determine if they are candidates for a DUI court that would be modeled after Felony Drug Court. Correspondingly, as an initial step, one county court judge would be assigned to the DUI court program.

Since our state mandates minimums for the DUI penalties, the proposal would call for courageous intervention by the State Attorney’s office. Instead of a standard adjudication and the minimums after six months, the DUI court should be one year in duration, with supervision and counseling monitored over that period of time. Upon completion of the program successfully, the State would agree to a plea to a reduced charge of reckless driving.

Theoretically, the option to enter the DUI court would be open to all first offenders, but the State could outline certain conditions occurring during the arrest which excluded some individuals from electing the program. A blue ribbon committee of defense attorneys, jurists, and prosecutors would work out these terms. So too would the committee iron out and reach an agreement on which second time offenders would be allowed entry into such a program. The terms can come later, but we should agree on the concept now.

Inclusive of the counseling that would be attendant with a DUI court are programs involving anger management, psychological counseling, and medical treatment, where necessary. There would be an educational component, therapy, and affirmative steps that have historically retarded recidivism. They would be alternatives to incarceration for VOPs too.

Here is what I know after being a lawyer for 30 years: alcoholism is a terrible thing which leads to self-destructiveness and violence. Unfortunately, many of those who abuse alcohol get behind the wheel of a car and become unwilling links to death and destruction. Sometimes they strike out in rage and cause families to suffer. But alcoholism leads to multiple other problems and road rage and lots of bad things. Let us do better things to help tame the problem we know exists.

Intervention for a first time offender may sometimes just not be necessary. But let's find out if it is a precursor to a deeper issue. The DUI may have been committed by some kid at a birthday party who just went off the deep end on a singular nite; some young person who could not control his liquor. The real drunk could pound down twice as many beers and drive better even while impaired. The DUI program is for the real drunk of course, but it is to prevent future drunks too.

We can put the person in jail just as easily I know. We always have. And we still have alcoholism and drunk drivers. But we are all so aware that so many people have drug and alcohol problems. Why do we not have a DUI court? Why do we simply offload and independently contract to others the responsibility? Let probation do this. Let someone else do that. What about in house supervision by the courts and the judiciary?

Historically, we know that drug courts integrate alcohol and other drug treatment services into the justice system. We know that alternatives to incarceration reduces recidivism and creates opportunities for offenders to turn around their lives, while actually saving taxpayers’ money.

Therefore, I propose this program be initiated, and the Chief Judge take those steps necessary and proper to get it underway. Won’t cost anyone a dime, and may save the system thousands.

A DUI court component to our justice system is so obvious I do not know why we do not have one already. But ask yourself this as a defense attorney or judge: when we rush through a plea for a DUI how many routinely fulfill the probationary terms with a minimal effort just to get through the six months and move on?

How many times is there legitimate judicial follow-up to reduce recidivism?

I am guessing, to be honest, since the first time pleas do not involve jail time, but straight probation, no lawyers have ever pressed for a DUI court. But maybe we serve our clients better if we give them an opportunity to be supervised longer.

Maybe we serve our society better if we do more than just get the best deal for the moment but work out the best answer to prevent our client from coming to us again, this time as a recidivist offender facing mandatory jail.

The bottom line is a DUI court would serve this community better than straight probation does. We ought to give society and our clients that option. And if it opens up the door to second offenders or reducing the final penalties for first offenders, we can all be for discussing the proposal. And I apologize if someone is already doing this and I just don't know about it.

Naked Motorcyclist Scores DUI Number 5

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

The Remarkable Hollywood Police DUI Video Case

Oh, you just can't make this stuff up.

A most disgraceful episode for law enforcement in Broward County, orchestrated by cops not paying attention to their oath, forgetting about a dashboard camera, and protecting their own, all things a citizen should fear most. All come in to play in the most egregious act by law enforcement that we have witnessed in years.

Four veteran Hollywood, Fla., police officers falsified a police report to cover up a crash involving a fellow officer.

The crash was caught on the officer's dashboard camera and on the audiotape, Sgt. Dewey Pressley, a 21-year-veteran of the force, is heard allegedly plotting to cover up what happened.

"Well, I don't lie and makes things up ever, because it's wrong," Pressley said. "But if I need to bend it a little to protect a cop, I'm gonna."

On tape, Pressley is also heard directing another officer on how to write the report.

"I will write the narrative out for you. I will tell you exactly how to word it so it can get him off the hook. You see the angle of her car? You see the way it's like this? As far as I'm concerned, I am going to word it she is in the left hand lane. We will do a little Walt Disney to protect the cop, because it wouldn't matter because she was drunk anyway," Pressley said.

Officers Dewey Pressley, Joel Francisco, Andrew Diaz and Community Service Officer Karim Thomas are all being investigated by Internal Affairs.

Meanwhile, the Broward State Attorney's Office has dropped DUI charges against Torrensvilas.

The conduct is disgraceful. Think about it again and again and it is mind boggling. If they would do this here, why not elsewhere? If they have done it now, have they not done it before? Who else are the unknown victims?

A sad day, but is it out of the ordinary or just out and very ordinary?

One wonders in a county that gave us Powertrak. A chief of police came to Hollywood to help clean up the department. I guess now he gets a new chance. Apparently the windows were still very dirty.

A Deputy Gone Bad in a World Gone Mad

'It was the deputy's fixation with women's breasts that was his undoing.'

- the first line from the Sun Sentinel piece by Tonya Alanyez, below.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-former-deputy-court-plea-050709,0,3602290.story

Do we have to read much more? It is the real swine flu.

Justice poisoned by a self serving cop operating under the color of law, behind a sheriff's badge.

A cop who was a family man extending his family, like a priest joyriding on some of his altar boys.

Hundreds of prosecutions scorched by his improper touching, wrongful lewdness, and inappropriate behaviour. It happens in city after city, community after community. This time it was our own.

There is no reason for defense attorneys to celebrate, but at least the silence has now been broken. We know why Detective Grady was suspended. I was in court that first day when he was recalled to the stand before a county jurist. The prosecutor had disclosed to the State they had information about the defendant they felt compelled to reveal.

The defense attorney was like a panelist on 'What's My Line?': "You say you work for the Sheriff and you are suspended, sir, can you tell us why?'

"No I cannot,' Grady replied. 'They have not told me why." The defense had their Brady material, the prosecutor felt it met its duty, and the judge routinely moved the case along. Perhaps she should not have done so.

Now we all do know why this deputy was suspended, and how his law enforcement career is in ruins, his life a wreck, and scores of good arrests, along with the bad ones, down the drain. An innocent victim may be freed from an unjust prosecution, but so too may a dangerous driver now prowl the streets drunk at nite because this cop was drunk with lust. No reason any one of us should celebrate.

The woman in the September incident attended the hearing. To protect her identity, the Sun Sentinel did not publish her name.

"I do have a fear that there are more victims out there, but who didn't come forward," she said. The case may be over, but for this women, whenever she is pulled over for as little as a broken tail light, a memory will illuminate that can never be put out.

That light today brightly stains this courthouse, the Sheriff's office, and a justice system that too often looks away from that truth instead of into its glare. No one wins. It just confirms how many times we have already lost.

DUI On a Motorized Bar Stool Not an April Fool's Joke

A motorized barstool! This beats the story about the guy getting a DUI on a lawnmower last year. Or that Florida law which allows you to get a DUI on a bicycle.

Think about it. A motorized bar stool. Fly it to the moon.

Brilliant! The proud owner, Kile Wygle, said it can go 38 mph!

Luckily for him, he was "only" going 20 mph when he crashed. He did not get a ticket for speeding.

Unluckily, he was busted for "driving" under the influence (and with a suspended license!). And, as reported by News Talk 610 WTVN:

Wygle was treated for minor injuries at Licking Memorial Hospital where he joked with Trotter about drinking 15 beers before the crash. He refused the blood-alcohol test.

http://www.610wtvn.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=268656&article=5234834

Ohio law prohibits anyone from operating a motorized vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The law excludes wheelchairs and mobility scooters. To the slammer he went, American ingenuity notwithstanding. Probably be in the Hard Rock or on E Bay next week. Will help pay for the guy's lawyer.

Your Daily Miami Beach Celebrity DUI Arrest

Painter and sculptor Romero Britto was arrested in Miami Beach early Thursday on drunken-driven charges, accused of finger painting at the wheel.

Police say they were drawn to the Brazilian-born artist's attentiton by the distinctive colors of his car above, when they saw it about 3 a.m. swerving between lanes, said Miami Beach Detective Jenny Velazquez, police spokeswoman.

In lieu of bond, Britto painted a new motif and design for the Dade County Jail, according to Miami-Dade Corrections spokeswoman Janelle Hall.

The artwork of Brazilian-born Britto can be found throughout Miami, which is distinctive for its bold colors and famous urinators who get drunk, drive, and piss all over the city. He has an art gallery on Lincoln Road. Last year he did a piece featuring Dontrelle Willis, the former Marlins pitcher also caught drinking and driving. Since then, Willis has not thrown a strike.

This piece has been given satirical license by the blogger.

Dirty Cops May Deep Six DUI Arrests

Maybe the deputies in Broward were doing steroids, but that is a lot less of a problem then the one blowing in the Windy City. Those problems would be the revelations today that a series of top DUI enforcement cops have fabricated charges against innocent defendants. Holy Lawsuit!

Dozens of DUI arrests may be dismissed in Chicago because the officer, Joe Parker, who made them has come under suspicion of falsifying them and framing drivers. He's the second cop to be accused of such wrongdoing.

Blues Singer Vanessa Davis may be one of Parker's victims, after Parker stopped her in 2005."He said, 'I smell liquor on you' and I said, 'You couldn't possibly, because I haven't been drinking,'" Davis said, recalling the night she was arrested.

A judge later threw out the DUI and the city paid Davis $100,000 to settle a lawsuit against Parker. Davis suffers from multiple sclerosis, and she said her anxiety from the arrest caused severe medical complications.

Parker faces a federal lawsuit by another man, Wayne Jackson, who said he was stopped by Parker while driving home from work on Lake Shore Drive in 2006. Jackson said he was given a field-sobriety test, which he said he passed. Parker's arrest report said Jackson was swaying and that his speech was slurred.Jackson said he passed a Breathalyzer test.

Now the Cook County State's Attorney's office is reviewing dozens of Parker's cases. Last year, prosecutors dropped more than 50 cases after accusing Chicago officer John Haleas of perjury. He had been honored as one of the top DUI enforces in the state. The perjury case against Haleas is still pending.

It is the criminal justice system, and some days it seems far more criminal than it does just. Lenny Bruce once said 'In the halls of justice, the only justice is in the halls.' One month of blogging and criss crossing the Internet for legal articles, and day after day you witness corrupt judges, dirty cops, rotten lawyers, and a system so taxed at every level you wonder how anything ever functions. You wonder how you spent your life in a world so seedy; how soiled you have inevitably become being part of that process. The scales of justice are blind. They should be. Lady Justice would be frightened if she could see.

How Not to Pass Your Breath Test

Unbeknownst to us, this video has been on You Tube for over a month, but it should get some more play now that legal blogs like The Juice has picked it up and entered the blawgosphere once again with cutting edge material.

Bonds Hits a HR in Court; A Rod Strikes Out

A Rant on Athletes
By Norm Kent

The judge presiding over Barry Bonds’s perjury case dealt prosecutors a significant setback late Thursday, ruling that the government cannot use several pieces of key evidence — including documents that tied Bonds to positive drug tests and doping calendars — at his trial, which is scheduled to begin next month.Here is the link to this morning’s NY Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/sports/baseball/20bonds.html?_r=1&th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1235131243-b78XPm9dew+/n2EaUTanfg

You grow up as a young man idolizing sports stars for their talent and skill and the joy they bring to your hometown. You don't expect to be reading about them getting indicted for lying to Congress or consuming illegal drugs. But then you are no longer a kid. I gave up thinking about athletes as heroes a long time ago. Too many mirror the unfair stereotype of dumb jocks though. I guess that is why it became a stereotype. Vince Scully, George Will, and Bob Costas may wax poetic about the pendulum of society hidden in a baseball game. All the player sees is the next pitch.

How dumb is Jim Leyritz? I mean Dave Bogenshutz necessarily pointed out that he passed 4,000 dui samples since his release, but he was supposed to do that wasn’t he? That is why the testing meter was there, to remind him that if you drink, you do not drive. You are charged with DUI manslaughter. You get a bond and are privileged to be out with your family, who you cherish. You don't months later then get behind the wheel with a breath alcohol level of .05 at 9 in the morning. That is just dumb. It may have been under the legal limit but it was above the common sense line.

As for A Rod’s Young and Stupid defense, which is all he could say, over and over again at his press conference, he looked more young and stupid now then before. You call this coming clean? Who is he kidding? He will leave it for others to judge if he cheated? He secretly shoots himself up in the dark of night, but he did not know if it was illegal? He did all this surreptitiously with a hidden cousin and told no one anytime anywhere? But he did not know it was wrong? He needed college to tell him that. Yeah, that worked for Bernie Madoff and Mark Dreier. Come on, I heard him say he was young and stupid so much it was like the words were injected into him and pushed out by a press agent. The only guilt I sensed was that he was caught and singled out. Everybody else was speeding, too.

No Alex, what you should have said is 'I was like every other athlete seeking an edge, willing to do anything and everything to win at whatever cost. That is what we all do. That is who we all are. I cheated, I lied, I covered up. I now know that is not the way to live the rest of my life, because I have foolishly tarnished myself and the game I love. And I will do everything I can to restore that dignity.'

By the way, that is the way players are and have been since the beginning of time. Cutting a ball with a razor, putting vaseline or spit on it, corking a bat, taking speed or uppers for extra zip, using binoculars behind a scoreboard to read catcher’s signs, wearing stick ‘em on gloves to catch a football in the cold, putting too much pine tar on the bat, raising the mound for your home team, wetting the baselines to slow a fast runner. You name it, and I will tell you a time and place players and owners have cheated to advance themselves and their game. That ladies and gentlemen, is sports.

Treated as heroes, adulated as stars, rewarded as kings, they don’t have anchors or a sense of their place in the spectrum. So they push the envelope at every turn. Maybe it is a breath machine after they retire or a human growth hormone while they are still on the field. They are taught to win at all costs and that is the way they play the game at 26 or 46 years old.

Jose's Got the Scoop on PBSO DUI Saturation Plan

Now normally Jose just exposes celebrities with their pants down. But this week he has got the Palm Beach Sheriff sending the heads of defense attorneys spinning up.

Sheriff Kenny has announced that on Feb 27-28 he is not only going to be using 75 deputies for DUI enforcment in one 12 hour period, he is going to demand that drivers be blood tested when they are pulled over, and if they refuse, hold them until the sheriffs can run to a judge's house and get a warrant. Hate to be on call that weekend.

Here is how Jose starts his story:

'Call him Sheriff Dracula!
Motorists, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw wants your blood.
I’m not kidding.
Drivers on county roads Feb. 27-28 will be subjected to blood tests at DUI checkpoints if they refuse a breath test. The plan calls for paramedics to be standing by for the blood drawing, which could take place in ambulances parked near the checkpoints.
As usual, there’ll be field sobriety tests, such as reciting the alphabet and walking a line. Those who fail will be treated differently than in routine DUI stops.
They’ll be asked to take a breath test on the spot, instead of being brought to a station where those tests are usually conducted. If a motorist refuses, deputies will actually drive to a judge’s home for a warrant. The deputies will then return to the checkpoint and demand that the suspect have blood drawn.'

For further comment on the Palm Beach Bar's reaction, read the rest of Jose's story:
http://www.page2live.com/2009/02/19/there-will-be-blood-at-dui-checkpoints/

and here is the sheriff's once secret memo about the operation plan:
http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/palmbeachpost/pdf/PBSO_DUI.pdf

and the reaction from the defense bar:
No freakin' way !

Drunk Lawyer Promises to 'Bend Over' Cops

This guy should not have been a lawyer.

You see, a citizen has a right to curse out a cop and call him names, and is statutorily protected from being charged. Not so if you are lawyers. Lawyers have less free speech rights than citizens they defend, we are learning. We have the Bar.

Don't get me wrong. A citizen who calls cops out in the street will still get his ass kicked, but at least you can't be prosecuted for calling a cop a bad name. As a matter of fact, in Broward, some whippersnapper of a young lawyer named Howard Finkelstein got an ordinance like that overturned in 1981 by a late jurist whose name was John King.

According to the ABA Journal's juicy daily reports, a former New Jersey judge, George Kopita has been suspended from his law practice for three months for an incident in which he allegedly told police officers who had arrested him on a drunken driving charge to “get the Vaseline out and bend over." Kopita had the good sense to quit his judicial post, but then wound up copping out to a charge of "threatening a public servant and drunk driving."

The Disciplinary Review Board had recommended only a reprimand on the ground that Korpita’s actions stemmed from his intoxication, but the New Jersey Supreme Court imposed a three-month suspension. No way of knowing whether this lawyer was hammered for the dui or his fighting words, or even a prior act of misconduct.

However, he made the news with his choice comments to the cops, which included such intoxicated overtures as:
(a) “when the cops beat the shit out of a guy, I do the right thing,”... “I'll never take care of cops again,” and (b) “After tonight, I'm done. … Never again, I'm going to stick it up their asses. Get the Vaseline out and bend over."

Heck, in this county we have had former judges pull people over at gunpoint when they did not approve of the left turn another driver was making. But as a non-drinker, I ask you this: When someone is drunk, and looser with their tongue, are they not in fact letting out how they really feel? Should we not rely more on what people say when they are intoxicated for their true feelings then when they are sober and holding back? I would not mind comments on that. N.K.

DUI: Driving Under the Influenza

Here is a note for drivers and DUI attorneys anywhere and everywhere. I recently stumbled upon a study which revealed that persons suffering from a simple cold can become more impaired than those under the influence of alcohol. As a matter of fact, the study says drivers with the flu impairs your abilities by as much as 11 %, the equivalent of downing a double shot of whiskey.

The English experiment put drivers with a variety of conditions, including PMT, stress, and headaches, through an approved hazard simulator test. Those suffering from colds and flu came off worst, with reaction times and alertness slashed compared to a healthy driver.

According to Lloyd’s, who commissioned the study, one in 10 road accidents in Great Britain during 2008 can be attributed to 'driver flu.' What's more, they are predicting a significant rise in such incidents over the next few months as cold and flu pandemics grip the nation.

The Brit survey revealed that nearly 40 per cent of all drivers do not hesitate to drive while suffering from the cold or flu, with over half, get that, over half, suggesting it has no affect at all on their driving ability. I would not be surprised if there was not a statistical corollary for Americans, would you?

In response to this, Lloyds TSB Insurance is warning drivers of the dangers of being unwell at the wheel, particularly when combined with medication, fatigue or a small amount of alcohol, which all have a significant impact on driving ability. There is not a lot to blog or blurb about this. It is common sense. Anyone who has ever been knocked on their ass by a Nyquil knows what I mean.
Last week, our community experienced yet another tragedy when an intoxicated parent with a horrible driving record crashed into a minivan and killed three children, leaving their parents alive and devastated.

Few criminal acts are as senseless as DUI; few as avoidable. If you are reading this, be always mindful of the fact that the law charges those who are impaired, whether it is from a lawful prescription or an excessive cocktail. Keep in mind that the life you save may be your own. And the best place to be with influenza is home in bed.

To view the accompanying video, please visit the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/v/q339HsePuqI&hl=en&fs=1

St. Pete Prosecutor Skates on 2nd DUI

The ABA Journal blog's Martha Neil reports that an ex prosecutor known for being really tough on DUI defendants has avoided jail on her own drinking binges.

Lydia Wardell, 41, got a year of probation but no jail time at her sentencing this week after putting her fate in the hands of Hillsborough County Judge Lawrence Lefler, reports the St. Petersburg Times. The DUI was her second; in 2005 she was given at least a year of probation following an arrest for drunk driving while her two young sons were in the vehicle.

Although a 10-day jail term is mandated, under state law, "if someone is arrested twice for DUI within five years, as Wardell was," it also provides for an exception, the newspaper explains: The judge has the alternative of sentencing the defendant to residential treatment, as Lefler did in Wardell's case, including in her sentence a requirement that she spend 110 days in residential treatment. Since Wardell has already done so, that portion of her sentence has been completed.

She has also had her driver's license suspended for five years, and must pay a $1,000 fine and perform 50 hours of community service. Wardell resigned from her job as an assistant prosecutor for Pinellas and Pasco Counties after her second DUI arrest, the newspaper notes.

"Before her first arrest, Wardell was known for her aggressive pursuit of DUI and other cases as one of two misdemeanor court supervisors for the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney," the St. Petersburg Times reports in an earlier article. "She was demoted after the first arrest, barred at work from having any contact with DUI cases. She was also suspended 30 days without pay."

We woud not do that here, would we?

Bradenton Appeals Court Ruling Strikes DUI Cases

A manufacturer's refusal to reveal the source code for its breath machines to test blood-alcohol content could cripple hundreds of prosecutions of suspected drunk drivers in Florida.

An appeals court has upheld the rulings of two trial court judges that the breath-test results are inadmissible unless defendants are allowed to examine the source code for the Intoxilyzer 5000. But the company that makes the machines, Kentucky-based CMI Inc., refuses to release the code, which it says is a protected trade secret.

According to a report in The Bradenton Herald, two Florida judges -- Doug Henderson in Manatee County and David Denkin in Sarasota County -- ruled the tests were inadmissible if defendants could not examine how they worked. Prosecutors appealed and this week a state appeals court affirmed the rulings. Prosecutors must now decide whether to take the cases to trial or dismiss the charges.

Both judges agreed that CMI could not be forced to divulge the source code. But without it, the evidence could not be allowed in. "The defendant's right to a fair trial outweighed the manufacturer's claim of a trade secret," Judge Henderson said during a hearing this week.

Prosecutors are awaiting Henderson's written order before deciding how to proceed, but one defense attorney said the state would most likely have to reduce the charges in many cases or drop them altogether.