Lying, Hypocrite, Lawyer, Family-Values Legislator Quits

The Columbus Dispatch reports that the lying, hypocrite, lawyer, and family-values Cincinnati-area legislator Robert Mecklenborg (pic) has resigned from the Ohio General Assembly.  But not before Mecklenborg worked out the most advantageous way he could stick it to Ohio taxpayers for salary and pension. 

Here's reporter Darrel Rowland's story:

An embattled Cincinnati-area state representative quit yesterday afternoon, caught up in controversy after being arrested for drunken driving in Indiana with a stripper in his car and Viagra in his system. 

By making his resignation effective Aug. 2, Robert Mecklenborg, R-Green Township, ensured himself that he will be paid for all of July; if he had quit this month, his legislative salary would have been prorated. He also gets a bit more from the state retirement system.

"My recent actions have become a distraction to the additional important work that lies ahead for the members of the 129th General Assembly. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that I resign from the Ohio House of Representatives," the married father of three said in a statement today.

"Most importantly, I want to sincerely apologize for any pain and embarrassment I have caused my family, my constituents, and my colleagues. I will be forever grateful to the many constituents and colleagues who have urged me to stay, but I believe it is in the best interests of my family and my constituents to step aside during this difficult time."

His two-sentence resignation letter to House Speaker William G. Batchelder, R-Medina, was sent electronically yesterday, although it had been in the works since Saturday, said Mike Dittoe, spokesman for House Republicans. The news was emailed to reporters near the conclusion of yesterday's women's World Cup final soccer match.

Batchelder, who called for Mecklenborg to step down last week and indicated that the resignation was only a matter of time, said in a statement, "Bob has admitted his mistakes and, while difficult, I believe he has made the appropriate decision to step down as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives."

The House's No. 2 GOP leader, Lou Blessing of Cincinnati, said in the same statement: "As a friend and fellow member from Hamilton County, I believe Bob Mecklenborg has provided valuable insight on a number of legislative issues over the years. His service will be missed, but I am pleased that he has appropriately decided to put the interests of his family and constituents first by stepping down from the Ohio House."

Ohio Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern, who had earlier called on Mecklenborg to quit, said a veteran lawmaker bears a heavier burden of accountability.   "He's not a freshman legislator who had a bad weekend," Redfern said. "It was clear he was going to put others at risk as well as his female passenger."

The chairman chided Mecklenborg for lying three times: to the arresting officer, to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles and to those around him.

The latest blow against the GOP representative came last week when it was revealed that four days after he was charged with DUI, Mecklenborg signed a driver's-license application in Ohio saying that he did not have any outstanding traffic citations. Mecklenborg, 59, had an expired driver's license when he was pulled over by an Indiana state trooper on April 23.

A three-term legislator who did not attend last week's House session, he has pleaded not guilty to DUI and is scheduled to appear in court on July 26. A dashboard camera video showed him repeatedly telling the trooper that he had not had anything to drink, even as he failed three field sobriety tests.

Dittoe said Batchelder doesn't regret not calling for Mecklenborg's resignation earlier. Despite Redfern's suspicions to the contrary, Dittoe said the speaker and his staff didn't find out about the indiscretions until early on June 29, shortly before the incident was reported in the press [...]
Mecklenborg was chairman of the House State Government and Elections Committee and sponsored a controversial bill that would require Ohioans to provide a photo ID before being allowed to vote. He also belonged to the Judiciary and Ethics Committee [...]
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Ihe video of the arrest shows Mecklenborg repeatedly lying to the arresting officer and attempting to deceive the Indiana officer.  This and Mecklenborg's fraudulent license application may cause some bar disciplinary grief for Mecklenborg.  We'll see.

Young Woman/Drunk Driver Sentenced to 6 Years for Killing a Cyclist

From the San Juan Capistrano Patch: 

A 30-year-old San Juan Capistrano woman was sentenced to six years in state prison today for running her car off the road in Dana Point and killing a bicyclist  In March, Michelle Nicole Stearns pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated for the October 2007 incident.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Craig Robison could have granted Stearns probation or sentenced her up to 10 years. Robison said he struck a middle ground because she had no criminal history and family and friends wrote letters to the judge on her behalf.

"I do believe her expressions of remorse are genuine,'' Robison said.  Stearns formed a nonprofit organization called Safe Cruz that
provides rides home for impaired drivers, Deputy District Attorney Nancy Hayashida said.
"Not a second goes by that I'm not in agony over this,'' Stearns told  the judge. "I would do anything to make this not real ... That's the torture. I can't change this.''

Stearns was driving her BMW north on Del Obispo Street near Quail Run at 2 a.m. when she lost control of the car, jumped the curb, hit a traffic sign and crashed into Jose Umberto Barranco-Patino, 32, as he pedaled home from his job as a busboy, prosecutors said.

She also hit a utility box, triggering a power outage in the area for about 600 customers. Stearns' blood-alcohol level was almost three times the legal limit, according to prosecutors. Barranco-Patino was pronounced dead at the scene.

"I am so sorry,'' she tearfully said in court.

Barranco-Patino's brother, Cesar Barranco, and his wife, Martha Pliego, said after the hearing they were satisfied with the sentence. With help from a translator, they told reporters the victim was a "great father'' who was happy and concerned with his family's welfare.
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In the blink of your eye, your whole life changes when you get behind the wheel of a car drunk.  You take the drink, the drink takes the drink, the drink takes you and innocent others.

Byron G. Stewart Is Drinking His Law License and Freedom Away

The Missouri disciplinary authorities have suspended Byron G. Stewart a lawyer who has progressively moved from simple drinking and driving into felony drinking and driving.  Here's a link to their opinion courtesy of the Legal Profession blawg.   Apparently, Mr. Stewart impressed the authorities with his recovery, but the Mo. Supremes think that a felony drunk driving conviction reflects poorly on the profession and are suspending Mr. Stewart for 6 months.  Mmmmm, maybe.

"Mom's Just a Little Buzzed"

Cierra Baughcum

WBSTV Channel 2 reports that a Clayton County, Georgia mother, Cierra Baughcum was nearly 5 times the legal limit for blood alcohol when she drove herself and her two young unrestrained children into a mobile home picnic area wiping out her Camaro and two picnic tables before coming to a stop at a chain link fence near a busy highway. 

Here's a link to Channel 2's story with video.  Are you terrified for these kids?  I am.

10,839 persons died from drunken driving in the US in 2009 according to government statistics.

DUI Judge Is a Drunk Driver, Nice!

The unhappy looking man in the picture is the former Municipal Court Judge for the town of Forsyth, Georgia (near Macon,) as you may have noticed the picture looks vaguely like a mug shot.  That's because this is the booking photo for the Judge who admits he was driving drunk. 

Judge Jeff Davis has stepped down from his municipal court judicial position following his impaired driving arrest in recognition that it's a tough sell, adjudicating drunk driving cases when you yourself are a drunk.  He did hang onto his Monroe County magistrate's position because that job does not entail DUI cases.

Too Drunk to Drive, Stay In the Car...

The Orlando Sentinel reports on the man who jumped out of the moving car he insisted he was not too drunk to drive:


"Jose Perez, 25, of Pierson died Saturday night after jumping out of the passenger seat of a moving car on State Road 11 in DeLeon Springs, a Volusia County sheriff's spokesman said.


Perez's girlfriend, Iris Hernandez, told deputies she was driving while Perez, who was drunk, repeatedly demanded to be allowed to drive. She said he threatened at least once to jump out of the car and finally did shortly after 9 p.m. near Blackwelder Road.

Rescue personnel said the man suffered severe head injuries and was taken to Florida Hospital DeLand where he was pronounced dead at about 10 a.m. The Volusia County Sheriff's Office Major Case unit is investigating the death."
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The "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous says "the alcoholic is like a tornado roaring his way through the lives of others. Hearts are broken. Sweet relationships are dead." 

I can't begin to tell you how many times in my distorted thinking I came oh so close to just such a bone-headed move.  Certainly, if you read this blawg and have followed my personal stories you know that in a figurative sense I did this with my career. 

Pathetic.

Kill a Cyclist, Have Your Kansas Law License Suspended

The ABAJournal.com website links to this report in the Topeka Capital-Journal regarding the law license suspension of Marc A. Schultz.  Schultz, a Topeka lawyer, entered guilty pleas to charges in the  DUI vehicular homicide of Timothy Roberts, a 55 year old cyclist last September.  In addition to a .12 BAC, Schultz tested positive for marijuana and pain killers. 

Schultz's law license will temporarily go the way of his freedom.  Oh, one other thing, Schultz--he had 3 other DUI convictions over the last decade.

Young Lawyer Goes to Jail, 6-18 Mos for DUI Fatality

Young Stroudsburg lawyer, Robert Kidwell (pic) drove drunk and killed a Bushkill, Pennsylvania man in the early hours of January 10, 2009.  This afternoon it is reported that Kidwell was sentenced to 6-18 months in the Monroe County Correctional facility.  His blood alcohol was .13 at the time that he cut down twenty-two year old Daniel Gallagher. 

This is the link to the story at the Poconos Record.  Presumably, Mr. Kidwell who was a 2007 graudate of Villanova Law School will sustain a significant disciplinary sanction in conjunction with his vehicular homicide conviction.   

I was at an AA meeting over the weekend at which the discussion centered on the suggestion sometimes heard that if the prospective AA participant doesn't truly believe he or she "qualifies" for AA membership they should go back out and try some "controlled social drinking."  A very wise person at theis AA meeting (not me) observed that outcomes such as the one reported concerning Mr. Kidwell and his victim Mr. Gallagher, are often the tragic consequence of just such experiments in "controlled drinking."  An article at the Lancet that I read in summary this AM analyzes research that demonstrates that alcohol is by far the most dangerous of all recreational drugs (exceeding cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, meth) in terms of every parameter of individual and social costs.  Career, lives, health, crime, safety,  .  .  .

Your Kid's Bus Driver is a Little Wasted

The Cincinnati Enquirer has the story of the local school bus driver arrested after dropping off 33 Colerain High School band members and crashing the school bus into a couple parked cars in a local high school parking lot.  His BAC tested at .229.  In a cooler next to the driver's seat the local police found a nearly empty bottle of Jagermeister, darvocet, and klonopin.  John Dalheimer, 61 faces a cooler full of charges as a consequence.

Amazingly, Dalheimer was still driving a school bus despite an earlier finding of empty booze bottle on the bus within the last year.   Oh, and he had a history of DUI.  So, how is it he had a license enabling him to ferry children around? 

One of the kids who was on the bus told a parent after the epidsode that if he had had a cell phone he would have called 911, Dalheimer's driving and behavior was that erratic.  As a local school official noted, this is a "bullet dodged."

Alcoholism and Insanity, . . . Just Outside Doing Pushups

Rebecca Veal (pic) had nine years of sobriety following multiple DUIs over multiple years.  She relapsed in 2009 killing a motorcyclist she struck from behind.  Her BAC was .21 twice the legal limit.  She will now do 15-years to life in prison in California.  This is the story at the SacBee.

While Rebecca was actively sober, her alcoholism and insanity was just outside waiting for her, doing push-ups. 

Shhhh....Mommy's Sleeping!

Here's a police blotter item from the Lorain (Ohio) Morning Journal to break your heart:

"When police found a 25-year-old Lorain woman passed out in a parking lot Wednesday night, her 3-year-old daughter told them 'Mommy is sleeping,' according to a Lorain police report.  Officers went to an apartment building at 1120 E. Erie Ave. around 6:54 p.m. where they saw the mother, Amber Connor (pic, left), lying flat on her back, 'passed out' in the parking lot. An empty bottle of vodka was next to her and her daughter was standing nearby, according to the report.

Neighbors had called police because the girl was wandering the parking lot by her mother. The girl was 'covered from head to toe in dirt and mulch' and “didn’t appear to have had a bath or been cleaned in some time,” the report stated. Paramedics were able to awaken Connor. Police said Connor was intoxicated to the point she urinated on herself and could not keep her balance. Officers tried to question Connor, but could not understand what she was saying, according to the report. Connor was treated for alcohol poisoning and released from Mercy Regional Medical Center around 10:30 p.m. She was then charged with disorderly conduct by intoxication and endangering children and was taken to Lorain County Jail. Connor’s boyfriend took care of the child for the night. He told police Connor’s alcoholism has been a continuously growing problem and she is scheduled for inpatient rehab beginning Sunday."
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Wow, 25-years old and already creating memories for the next generation to revisit in rehab.

Madison Wisconsin Drunk Driver 6 Times the Legal Limit

The Madison Wisconsin, Cap Times, reports this AM that a Masdison resident was taken into custody for drunk driving and was found to be 6 times the .08 BAC limit.  Here's reporter Bill Novak's story:

"A Madison man arrested on his alleged felony fifth drunken driving offense early Wednesday morning had a blood alcohol level nearly six times the legal limit of 0.08, Madison police reported.  Clinton Chamberlain, 39, was arrested at about 12:20 a.m. Wednesday after he crashed his vehicle into a concrete construction barrier at the intersection of Beld and Fisher Streets on the south side, police said.

Responding officers determined Chamberlain was 'extremely intoxicated,' with Madison Fire Rescue taking him to an area hospital, the police report said.

'He was admitted to the hospital for observation and will be taken into custody upon his release from the hospital,'  said Lt. Joey Skenandore in the police report.  Police did not provide Chamberlain's exact blood alcohol level."
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This is intoxication at an almost unbelievable level.  This is alcohol poisoning, it almost sounds like a suicide attempt? 

As bad as this is, miracles happen.  A guy like this could recover and someday shed all sorts of light for others trying to recover from alcoholism.  I hear men and women who have survived these sorts of scenarios, again and again--recover and play instrumental roles in the recovery of others.

Burp!

The Kentucky Supreme Court is deciding a case relating to a DUI prosecution where a local court judge decided that a Burp skewed breathalizer test results and dismissed drunk driving charges.  Here's Andrew Wolfson's Louisville Courier-Journal account:

"It is considered crass in most cultures, and hardly a subject of polite conversation. But now the Kentucky Supreme Court must answer a profound legal question about the burp — is one enough to invalidate an alcohol breath test?

A Jefferson District Court judge decided that it is, acquitting an accused drunk driver in January based solely on the judge's recollection — from years earlier, when he was a prosecutor — that a burp could skew the results.

Now, that case is before the state Supreme Court, with ramifications that lawyers on both sides say extend beyond the belch — or even its impact on breath tests. They say the court's decision could determine to what extent judges may rely on their own knowledge and experience in admitting evidence in cases of all kinds.The final brief in the case was filed last month and the Supreme Court will probably rule on it later this year.

The case began three days after Thanksgiving in 2006, when a St. Matthews police officer said he observed Bertrand E. Howlett speeding and nearly running off the road.

Howlett smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes and failed a field sobriety test, according to the officer, who charged him with driving under the influence.

When tested later at the Jefferson County jail, Howlett blew a 0.15 — nearly twice the level at which drivers are presumed intoxicated in Kentucky. But before the test, Howlett later testified, he had burped.  It wasn't a loud burp — it may even have been inaudible, he testified.  But the manual for the Intoxilyzer 5000EN machine used in Kentucky says the operator must observe the suspect for 20 minutes before giving the test to ensure he avoids 'oral or nasal intake of substances which will affect the test.' If the subject 'regurgitates,' the manual says, the operator should delay the breath test for an additional 20 minutes. The idea is to ensure that any residual alcohol in the mouth has dissipated, so the machine measures only the alcohol exhaled from the lungs.

Jefferson District Judge Donald Armstrong Jr. tried the case without a jury Jan. 26, (the trial was delayed for several years because of unrelated litigation over the Intoxilyzer) then thought about it overnight. He returned the next day and said he had a problem.  During his 23 years as an assistant county attorney — six of them prosecuting DUI cases — he had read the Intoxilyzer manual many times, he said, and recalled that it said if a suspect burps, the operator must wait another 20 minutes before testing.  Finding that Howlett definitely burped, and the officer who conducted the test didn't wait long enough to perform it, Armstrong said he had a reasonable doubt about the defendant's guilt.

'Therefore,' Armstrong pronounced, 'I'm going to find him not guilty.'

The prosecution cannot appeal an acquittal. But saying Armstrong's ruling produced a 'manifest injustice,' the county attorney's office is asking the Supreme Court to decide whether judges in Kentucky should be allowed to consider facts in evidence that are based on their own knowledge.  Judges routinely take what is called 'judicial notice' of facts that are beyond dispute. For example, a judge will note that a crime that took place at 'Fourth and Broadway' occurred in Jefferson County, meaning the prosecution doesn't have to prove it.  Only facts that are 'not subject to reasonable dispute' can be 'judicially noticed.'

Under the rules, two categories of facts qualify: Those generally known in the county where the case is heard, and those that can be readily confirmed by 'sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.'

But the rules in Kentucky are silent about whether a judge should be able to rely on his own knowledge in making such a declaration.

Assistant County Attorney Ben Wyman, who prosecuted Howlett and is representing his office before the Supreme Court, says they should not –— in part because judges can get things wrong. He said that's what happened in Howlett's case.

'The court went out of its way to find a reason, based on the court's own incorrect personal recollection, to dismiss a DUI case on grounds that were beyond any evidence or argument put forth by the parties,'  Wyman said.  He said Howlett's lawyer, Paul Gold, a former district judge, presented no proof or argument that the 'alleged burp' would have made any difference in the test, and did not ask Armstrong to take judicial notice of that phenomenon.  Plus, Wyman said, Armstrong misremembered the manual — it requires a delay only when the suspect 'regurgitates,' Wyman said, citing the 2000 edition of the Intoxilyzer manual.

'The court … misunderstood ‘burp' versus ‘regurgitate,' Wyman said.  'The manifest injustice isn't that the commonwealth lost a DUI charge,'  Wyman said, 'it is how the commonwealth lost.'

On the broader issue — whether judges may rely on their own knowledge — Wyman said courts in Kentucky and elsewhere have said they may not.  For example, he noted that when a judge in California ruled that a defendant's statements made as he was recovering from surgery were involuntary and inadmissible — based on the judge's own experience recovering from anesthesia — he was overruled by a federal appeals court."
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A couple of things are going on in this case that are remarkable.  The prosecutors suspect that the Judge ruled against them becasue of favoritism and that he used his ability to exercise "judicial notice" of a fact that he remembered as a "fig leaf."  Or as lawyers often say, "we need to give the judge a peg, to hang his hat on."  In other words, we expect that this or that finder of fact and law is inclined to rule this or that way--but we need to give him or her a reason to rule our way without embarassing them, or so they will be upheld on appeal. 

"Judicial Notice" of a fact is usually not terribly controversial, because it usually does not relate to technical aspects of evidence.  Here, the judge is supplying recollection of a technical fact that is built on a foundation supplied by the testimony of the defendant about burping.  It's a very interesting decision and outcome and it demonstrates that no issue in the law goes unexamined at one time or another.  It's actually pretty marvelous--a Supreme Court Case on burping.

Police Blotter Item from Highland Heights, Ohio

When I actively drank, I would buy a six-pack and leave the brews in a paper bag on the passenger seat (in the pre-plastic bag days,) and as I drove I drank.  My only real problem was disposal, in my drunk logic I didn't want the empties in my car maybe I was afraid I would forget them and they'd roll around on the floor.  One night I tried to chuck an empty bottle out of the passenger window as I badly negotiated a circular off ramp. Operating on gross motor, so to speak, my aim was not true and the empty rebounded striking me in the head.  What a genius!  This police blotter item from Highland Heights, Ohio sounded familiar:

"DUI, BISHOP ROAD: A caller reported a non-injury motor vehicle accident on Friday in the rear drive of Zeppe’s Pizzeria, 5559 Wilson Mills.   Police had one female in custody for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and for having five open bottles of wine in the passenger seat."
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As I said in so many words, above, I totally relate.

Five Times the Legal Limit

The Hartford Courant reports on the Clinton, CT woman arrested while driving under the influence who was five times the legal limit.  This is Rocco Paolina's report for the Courant:

"A woman was arrested Saturday with one of the highest blood-alcohol levels local police have ever seen, they said.  Kim Marshall, 44, of 144 East Main St., Clinton, was pulled over after she was seen driving erratically and behaving strangely, police said.

A breath test indicated that her blood-alcohol level was 0.406 percent, said Sgt. John Carbone — more than five times the legal level for driving.  Marshall was brought to Middlesex Hospital for evaluation."
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This is intoxication at levels close to alcohol poisoning.  We saw a case on Bad Lawyer back in the late winter where a Cincinnati Grandmother with kids in the car had a slightly higher number, but its a rare number among those still conscious. 

Four Times the Legal Limit

The Panama City (Fla.) News Herald reports on the the DUI arrest of Phillip Wayne Hayes whose blood alcohol tested at four times the legal limit.  This is online editor, Tony Simmons' story:

"A transient stopped early Monday morning for driving down a turn lane for four blocks later tested at nearly four times the legal limit for alcohol, according to a Bay County Sheriff's Office report.

Phillip Wayne Hayes, 55, listed an address of 609 Allen Ave., which is the Panama City Rescue Mission. He was charged with driving under the influence[.]

According to the report, a deputy spotted a Chevrolet van eastbound on Cherry Street in the center turn lane about 4 a.m. Monday. The van traveled in the lane for about four city blocks, at which time the deputy pulled over the van.  [Mr.] Hayes, had trouble maintaining his balance and emitted a strong smell of alcohol, the report said. His speech was slurred and he had trouble answering basic questions, among other indications of impairment. He refused to perform a field sobriety test.

Hayes was arrested and taken to the Bay County Jail, where he was placed in the breathalyzer room. He told the operator that he was guilty and that the deputy had saved his life, the report said. He then agreed to submit a sample of his breath, which was taken after a 20-minute observation period.  The two samples registered 0.304 and 0.310. The legal limit in Florida is 0.08. Hayes was described as standing 5-foot-7 and weighing 150 pounds.
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If you read the Bad Lawyer, you know why this story is here.  Today alone, there are many more tragic stories of dead children, murders, rapes, and various heinous crimes all connected to the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol that I could have run instead.  This story is slightly comic, so I choose to run it instead.

But look at Phillip.  He was once somebody's baby.  He was once a little boy going to elementary school somewhere.  He may have been a Cub or Boy scout.  He might have had a paper route.  He may have loved and married a sweetheart and he might have been someone's beloved father.  Now look at him. 

No Matter How Far Down the Scale We Have Gone . . .

Bobby Luke was drunk and speeding on his motorcycle and popping wheelies when he crashed into a car and killed Lynda Colegate, 55. Mr. Luke was in the wrong lane, passing other cars in the no passing zone when he smashed into Colegate's car. The motorcycle engine from Luke's Honda "crtoch rocket" hit Colegate in the head killing her.

According to a report at the Cincinnati Enquirer, Mr. Luke pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a charge or aggravated vehicular homicide.   Luke will get at least two years in prison and possibly as much as 13 years.  He is slated to be sentenced September 8th  by Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Jerome Metz.

The news report indicate that at the time police tested Mr. Luke for alcohol, his BAC was .079 percent  which is .001 percent below Ohio's legal limit for driving apparently he had vomited. Later blood tests demonstrated BAC of .104 percent, which is well above the legal limit.

Other interesting facts are that at the time of the crash, Mr. Luke lived in Indiana but had Kentucky plates and of course, the accident happened in Ohio. Luke's Indiana license was suspended.  How much chaos can anyone maintain in their lives?  Luke is an example of full-on chaos directly attributable to his use and abuse of alcohol.  His actions are those of an alcoholic tornado in a suicide dance along the roads and avenues of the tri-state area around Cincy. 

There is an AA "promise" that has come true in my life--no matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.  As awful as this story is, this promise and many others can come true for Bobby Luke.

5th DUI--Nothing Runs Like a Deere

Oliver Springs, Tennessee has a determined drunk, Lonnie Michael Haney taken into custody for his fifth DUI this time astride the John Deere lawnmower.  This is from the Knoxville News Sentinel:
A Clinton man was arrested for his fifth drunken-driving offense Sunday afternoon. His lawnmower was taken to the impound lot.The arresting deputy knew that Lonnie Michael Haney, 46, had had his driver's license revoked when he recognized the serial offender driving a John Deere riding mower southbound along the shoulder of the northbound lane on Tri-County Boulevard, according to the Anderson County Sheriff's Office incident report. 

Haney allegedly had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, red glossy eyes, slurred speech and appeared unsteady on his feet, the report states. He failed a subsequent sobriety test.  Once arrested and seat-belted into the back seat of the deputy's cruiser, Haney also was outfitted with a helmet, the report notes, after he began banging his head against the inside of the vehicle.
He now is charged with felony DUI, driving on a revoked license and violation of the implied consent law, ACSO Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.
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I'm chairing the 5:30 Monday evening AA meeting which means that for this month I choose the topic which we "discuss."  Since there is nearly a hundred people at this Monday session, really the discussion is more a series of brief comments for nearly everyone to have an opportunity to make comment.

Tonight I chose the 1st Step because immediately prior to the meeting I spoke to a "new guy" who had never been to an AA meeting before, and besides there were lots of new faces. 

The first step is: "We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol and that our lives had become unmanageable."  Notice, there are two parts to this step.  "powerless[ness] over alcohol," and "unmanageable" lives.  Also notice that it doesn't say "I admitted..." it says "we admitted."  You don't have to be a Lonnie Michael Haney to admit powerlessness over alcohol or unmanageabilty--in fact, the message of powerlessness and unmanageability was there for Mr. Haney long before he fired up the John Deere, of course "nothing runs like a Deere."

In all seriousness, my drinking was out of control with the first drink I took after I crossed over into alcoholism.  I proved "powerlessness" every time I drank because after the first drink there was no telling how much I'd drink subject to having ample supply available to me.  But the part that got me was the "mental obsession over drinking which entailed expending way too much conscious deliberation over when I could drink the way I wanted to drink unencumbered by the world.  You see, your life becomes unmanageable when you sacrifice your mental health to untreated alcoholism.  Mr. Haney is a vivid reminder that you can reach your "bottom" and just keep digging.  Not all hopeless and helpless drunks look like or act like Haney(although, I suspect we feel on the inside like Haney looks on the outside)--on Bad Lawyer over the last year we've seen Judges, lawyers, doctors, Moms, teens, and Grandmothers, just keep digging.   Alcohol is cunning, baffling and powerful, but there is a solution and it begins with the "admission" we make with the very "first step."

I'm thrilled to report that on the one year anniversary of this Blawg, August 17th--one day at a time--I will celebrate a year of sobriety. 

Mother Gets Life Sentence For Drunk Driving Death of Her Toddler

This is from the Columbus Dispatch:

Mother gets 3 years in drunken-driving death of her toddler
By John Futty

"A mother whose drunken-driving crash killed her 2-year-old daughter was sentenced today to three years in prison.  'I blame myself every day,' Jessica C. McKinley said in Franklin County Common Pleas Court before sentencing. She pleaded guilty last month to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide and one count of driving while intoxicated. McKinley, 23, Dartmouth Ave., had a blood-alcohol level of 0.224 percent, nearly three times the level at which Ohio considers someone impaired, at the time of the crash.

She was driving at least 64 mph in a 35-mph zone when her car struck a traffic barrier on Nelson Road on Jan. 6, 2009. Her daughter, Lanyah McKinley, was in the back seat unrestrained and in an unsecured booster seat. The girl died at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

Judge Tim Horton sentenced McKinley to three years for the vehicular homicide and six months for drunken driving, to be served concurrently. He also imposed a five-year suspension of her driver's license.
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While you see that the Court's sentence seems lenient consdiering the consequences, in fact any mother, any real parent understands why this post says Mrs. McKinley received a "life sentence."

12-Year Old Designated Driver

Okay, Bad Lawyer has been obsessed over the last week or so with DUI stories, and I intend to move on, but I can't resist this story from TrueCrimeReport.com  which is a great resource.  They call this guy their "moron of the day:"

"59-year-old Thomas Skinner (mug shot) of Houston likes to party. But he likes to party safely. So when he decided to get hammered Monday night, he got a designated driver. The problem: The driver was his 12-year-old grandson.


Police in Liberty Hill, Texas got a 911 call about a truck driving erratically on Highway 29. When they stopped the vehicle, they found a hammered grandpa riding shotgun, with the 12-year-old boy behind the wheel. Skinner's 11-year-old grandson was also in the back seat.

When asked why the boy was driving, Skinner responded by saying the kid was learning to drive.  Police still don't know why they were on the highway, but the boy had apparently driven 20 miles.   Skinner is now in jail, and his grand kids have been returned to their Houston home. At least grandpa gave them a good story to tell when they get older."
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Moron of the day may be a stretch when you consider some of the other stories here on Bad Lawyer, but Skinner's in the running, no doubt about it.