Bill Moyers faces drunken driving charge

Burlington Free Press ^ | 08/03/2002 | AP

[JimVT]

Bill Moyers faces drunken driving charge

The Associated Press

ARLINGTON -- Journalist Bill Moyers has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.

"I intend to contest the charge," Moyers said in a statement Thursday.

Moyers, 68, who served as special assistant to President Johnson and publisher of the Long Island newspaper Newsday before turning to public television in the 1970s, was stopped July 27 on Vermont 7A in Bennington County.

Moyers said he had just left a friend's birthday party around 10 p.m. when he was stopped. He admitted to the arresting officer he had drunk a glass of champagne and "a small amount of wine" at the party, Moyers wrote.

Moyers swerved repeatedly across the centerline of the road and had trouble negotiating a curve, according to Trooper Travis Kline of the Vermont State Police.

"Not only was I observing the speed limit," Moyers wrote, "but my companions -- my wife and two friends -- testified they had detected no signs of any problem with my driving, and that I appeared to be in full control of my faculties, as indeed I was. I intend to contest the charges."

A roadside breath test showed Moyers' blood-alcohol content to be 0.10 percent. In Vermont, motorists who register at or above 0.08 percent are considered to be drunk under the law. A follow-up test at the barracks about 90 minutes later showed Moyers' blood-alcohol content had dropped to 0.079 percent -- within the legal limit. Police calculate how much alcohol would have left the driver's system in the time after the arrest and take that into account, Kline said.

Moyers, a resident of Bernardsville, N.J., told Kline he was staying at a hotel in Manchester. Following the arrest, Kline cited Moyers to appear at Vermont District Court in Bennington on Aug. 12, and released him from the barracks.

[bmwcyle]

The Liberals fright to the .08 blood level. Let them be punished under their ideas of fairness.

[JimVT]

Wuhl, day-um ta hail...Ah never wudda knowed.

After having served on Okinawa for a couple of years with a bunch of good ol' boys like "Dink" Archer from Mumphis and "Duke" Larsen from Sapulpa, OK I was one day honored with the statement: "Ya know, Jeeum, you a good ol' Yanki shee-ut."

[yarddog]

I will have to admit I don't know that much about Galbraith. I do recall him debating William Buckley on "firing line" and thought he seemed like a decent person although I disagreed with his argument.

Many years ago, (I just realized it is nearly forty) he sat beside my sister on a flight from London to Washington. Her husband was a Navy pilot stationed in Washington, and they had a new baby girl. She said Galbreath took the baby and played with her for nearly the whole flight. A really nice man according to my Sister.

[Jerry_M]

I take solace in knowing that Bill Moyers did not learn this behavior at SWBTS. I can only hope that this incident will keep them from inviting him to come on campus as a "distinguished" alumni.

[PLK]

Thanks to the MADD fanatics, you are assumed to be automatically guilty.

For those interested in the MADD phenomenon, they have now taken to volunteering to check I.D.'s at fairs and small town street celebrations where alcohol is available for purchase. In our small, very liberal town, there is an annual community festival weekend. Carnival, parade, etc. The organizers wanted to have a beer tent this year, something new. The usual complaints came in regarding this, so the committee agreed to allow the MADD mothers to staff the I.D. checkpoint. They were allowed to charge $1 for the I.D. bracelet (MADD fundraising) and hand everyone a MADD brochure. All this just to get the city council to agree to a simple beer tent during the street dance.

Our oldest daughter & her boyfriend, who turned 21 just a few weeks before the event, approached the I.D. checker and were treated to an emotional review of her own daughter's death at the hands of a drunk driver when the MADD mom noticed the birthdate on boyfriend's I.D. was the same as her daughter's. Talk about a downer. The kids were just uptown enjoying their friends and community. The next thing they knew they were subjected to that. It was pretty awful.

The kids are very responsible; they had already agreed that my daughter was the D.D. and everything was under control. They did not deserve or need a MADD mom's harrassment. However, as a victim group, none exceed the power of MADD.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I never made the Moyers--Carter connection till now. Both are self-important elitists, never allowing a few facts to get in the way of their judgement.

[Carolinamom]

Funny Interesting how Moyers' blood-alcohol level went down below the legal limit when measured the 2nd time but was above the level WHEN STOPPED at the scene.

[hoosierham]

Not funny at all, as the body metabolizes any substance the concentration decreases. I only wish the concentration of MADD and the other "my rights are MORE important than you because I'm a victim" groups would dissipate as quickly.

[Carolinamom]

True, but shouldn't the first reading take precedence since that was the time of the observed offense? Wouldn't the patrolman also have a video of Moyers' driving which prompted stopping him?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Here's hoping he appeals all the way to the Supreme Court.
The story will be retold, over and over.

Stick a fork in him; he's done.

[ao98]

My local paper had a three paragraph story titled " Journalist Bill Moyers charged with DUI" on page two. The story is getting out.

[gcruse]

Bill Moyers, noted public fraudcaster...

[aristeides]

The drop in the alcohol blood level over 90 minutes was not unusual at all. It normally drops about .02 every hour. So the later reading of .079 tends to confirm the earlier .10.

[aristeides]

What you say could explain why some policemen gave me a real hassle after I was stopped and admitted I had had one beer (and one hot dog) something like half an hour before they stopped me. Maybe I'm lucky they eventually let me go after the breathalyzer confirmed my claim. But what should I have told the policemen after they stopped me?

By the way, I understand orange juice has one-tenth the alcohol content of beer. So, if one beer is unacceptable, are several glasses of orange juice also?

[1Old Pro]

The Liberals fright to the .08 blood level. Let them be punished under their ideas of fairness.

I agree. On a side note, I think in my state you are allowed to get a blood test from a qualified institution to test BAC within one hour of arrest. This drops BAC by .02.

If that's the case in Vt. then Moyers is off the hook ....it sounds like.