"This part of the house is where I she came at me wielding her vibrator! It was self defense, I tell you!"
Posted on 09/22/2003 11:56:40 AM PDT by Defiant
DUI conviction not likely to cost job
ASSOCIATED PRESS
September 22, 2003
SANTA BARBARA – A judge convicted of driving under the influence after an argument with her domestic partner may be cleared to return to work today, after prosecutors dropped a felony charge that had threatened to end her career.
Superior Court Judge Diana R. Hall, 53, who was convicted of two misdemeanor drunken driving charges, was sentenced Friday to three years probation, ordered to undergo alcohol counseling and fined $1,475.
Judge Carol Koppel-Claypool also restricted Hall's driving privileges for 90 days and ordered her to attend Mothers Against Drunk Driving classes.
Hall was accused of attacking her former partner, Deidra Dykeman, 39, during a drunken argument in December. Hall had been acquitted in August of one felony count of dissuading a witness by force or threat and misdemeanor counts of domestic battery and exhibiting a firearm.
The remaining felony charge stemmed from Hall's destruction of a phone during the confrontation with Dykeman.
After jurors deadlocked 11-1 in favor of conviction, Koppel-Claypool declared that retrying Hall would violate the spirit of the law because jurors did not believe she had battered Dykeman or threatened her with a gun.
Koppel-Claypool previously had said she would have reduced that charge to a misdemeanor if Hall had been convicted.
Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Smith agreed Friday to drop the charge.
Six charges initially were filed against Hall, the presiding criminal judge in Lompoc, in northern Santa Barbara County.
Dykeman, 39, testified that Hall bit her, threatened to shoot one of her dogs and walked around their Santa Ynez Valley home carrying a loaded .38-caliber revolver while Dykeman was making a 911 call.
Hall acknowledged during her trial that she drove away from her home that night, but said she never touched a gun or Dykeman.
She was arrested a short time after leaving the home. Deputies reported she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.18, more than double the legal limit of 0.08.
After her arrest, Hall was suspended from the bench with pay.
The dismissal of the felony charge clears the way for her to return today to Superior Court in Santa Maria.
She declined to comment after Friday's sentencing, but her attorney, Jack Earley, said she was "tremendously relieved."
Hall's legal problems may not be over. The District Attorney's Office confirmed Friday that Hall was under investigation for possible illegal campaign violations stemming from a $20,000 contribution from Dykeman to Hall's 2002 re-election campaign.
No charges have been filed, but a search warrant for Hall's bank records was obtained last week.
Assistant District Attorney Pat McKinley declined to discuss the investigation.
Hall's attorney said his client was innocent and accused prosecutors of launching a fishing expedition after they failed to convict the judge of all charges.
"This is nothing but the act of a vindictive prosecution who lost part of their case," Earley said.
Translation: Free vacation for bad behavior...
The world has gone mad!
"This part of the house is where I she came at me wielding her vibrator! It was self defense, I tell you!"
Which is exactly why I was opposed to Judge Moore and his rock -- it leaves the impression that a litigants' religious beliefs and practices, if made known to the judge, may have an influence upon the outcome of a case.
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