Posted on 04/23/2005 6:59:39 AM PDT by gorush
He'll lose his license for six months and pay a fine, but State Sen. Russ Decker will keep a drunk driving arrest off his record.
The Wausau area democrat will pay a $250 fine as part of a plea deal in connection with his drunk driving arrest in Middleton last month.
Decker's attorney agreed he had a blood-alcohol content slightly above the legal limit when he was arrested, but the OWI charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement.
After his arrest, Decker, who is a senator for the 29th district near Schofield, issued a statement saying he deeply regrets "driving while impaired."
"I used bad judgment," the statement reads. "I cooperated fully with law enforcement officials and will continue to do so through the legal process. I would like to sincerely apologize to my family, the people of the 29th Senate district and my colleagues."
He is the third state official facing drunken driving charges in the recent past.
State Rep. Frank Boyle pleaded no contest to the charge. Maple Bluff police picked up the Superior Democrat Dec. 5 after he got his car hung up on a concrete parking barrier while trying to get home.
Squad car video shows Boyle stumbling badly while trying to walk a straight line. Maple Bluff police said Boyle had a blood alcohol level of 0.18. The state's legal limit is 0.08.
State Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager was cited for drunken driving in February after she drove a state-owned car off the road and into a Dodge County ditch en route from Madison to her Fond Du Lac home. She had been out drinking at a Madison bar and said she only had two glasses of wine. Her blood alcohol level was .12.
It's not just Democrats who get off. Politicians in general get off in such cases.
One law for the ruling elite another for the peons.
He must be a drinking buddy of Peg Lautenschlager, the "B**** in the Ditch".
Two verry tall glasses.
What the hell?
yeah ,...ya can almost hear Peg ,"but OFFsir , Iyonly Had Tee martoonies ,"
Just forwarded the story to MADD.
AMEN bump!
One of these days there's going to be a revolt against the elitists.
Benjamin Franklin: “In free governments the rulers are the servants and the people their superiors and sovereigns.”
Senator, the only people that care are the ones who you owe political favors. And it looks a lot like your list just grew by 1-Judge & 1-DA.
Politicians MUST have a credit rating system for "Favors owed", "Favors paid" and "Favors overdue".
Who has the list?
Slightly? Slightly?? SLIGHTLY????
0.18 is TWO AND A QUARTER TIMES 0.08!
Good thing he didn't drive his car off a bridge when drunk and leave his passenger in the car to suffocate! Then they might have suspended his license for a whole year, like Ted Kennedy!
That would be more than two times the legal limit. The attorney apparently isn't very good at math.
You misread the number. His was .09.
I always wondered what it took to be a superior democrat.
BIG glasses!
All it takes is to be from Superior.
In the story it said a guy named Boyle had the .18, not Decker.
I tried to find if they have a record search on their court website (the Middleton Municipal Court), as many do. Sadly, they don't.
Visiting another newspaper article on this, it appears he pled to driving with a prohibited alcohol content. This is not DWI, but sounds like a "lesser included offense." Lesser included offenses are often included by the legislature and are frequently used as plea bargains.
It may well be that the prosecutor/judge in that county (and many counties) have a policy that first time offenders may plead to the drivingw/prohibited alcohol content. That still goes on your record, just not as a DWI. It is unlikely that, after one of those, you get a similar bite at the apple.
I prosecute, and the judge has a policy not to reduce DUIs unless there's something really wrong with the state's case, in which case, he will sometimes allow pleas to reckless operation. This is NOT the norm. Most places will allow pleas on DUIs.
So, I guess what I'm saying is, before arriving at a judgment on whether or not he "got off easy," it would be helpful to know the local practice.
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