THE LAWYER: CRASH VICTIM -- PLUS A HIT AND RUN COP CASE
by John Lee
Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught. --Honore de Balzac
What does an expert in the law do when faced with a police officer who has the opportunity to accuse him of DWI?
Donny Smith had been both a general sessions court judge and a commanding officer with the Arcania National Guard (he had been forced to step down from his judgeship to avoid criminal charges of corruption, for double-dipping both paychecks at the same time during a long military deployment). He became involved in a minor traffic collision. When police arrived, he admitted that he had been drinking that evening, and he also admitted that he was under a doctor's care for a "serious medical condition." He did not say that he was taking any prescription medications.
Donny was asked to voluntarily take a field sobriety test, which he agreed to take. The officer later alleged he had failed the test. He was arrested for DWI. He was asked to voluntarily take the breath-alcohol test (under threat of losing his driver's license) which he agreed to do. It yielded a test result of 0.068% BAC.
Generally, "a man who represents himself has a fool for a lawyer." However, when the case is still in the pre-trial negotiation stage, this strategy can save an awful lot of money for someone who knows what they are doing.
Donny negotiated a plea bargain to Reckless Driving, and was sentenced to six months probation and a $100 fine plus court costs. Without the expense of attorney fees, his total cost and penalty was little more than a simple speeding ticket. Being self-employed, he did not fear losing his job.
That same day in criminal court, Donny represented a police officer who had been involved in a hit-and-run collision in his unmarked police car. He had crashed into a woman who was five months pregnant, injuring her. Her brother, who was also in the car, was not injured. The victim said the cop stopped, looked at her and drove away (perhaps the cop had been drinking and feared a DWI arrest--another cop did testify as to smelling alcohol on his breath immediately prior to the crash). Then the cop filed a false police report alleging his car had been stolen. Donny plea bargained the case, placing the now retired officer on probation and gave him diversion, an option judges can grant to a first time offender, and ordered him to perform 25 hours of community service through the alternative sentencing program. After twelve months, the ex-cop was to have had a clear record, except he was rearrested for DWI after another collision.
The victim submitted a report to the Criminal Court which read, "I'm not sure if it was my youth, the color of my skin or because he was a police sergeant that caused [the police officer] to disregard the feelings of myself and my family. I think it is important that people in a position of authority should not be permitted to treat others the way I, [my daughter], and my mother were treated in this ordeal."
The victim's civil attorney stated, "We're unable to determine from the pre-sentence report whether [the police officer] is sorry for what he did or sorry that he got caught."
The civil case was eventually settled out of court, awarding the victim $28,000 from the insurance company of the ex-police officer, plus the government spent $3,000 to repair her car. [Newspaper reports, court records]
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