Prosecution And Celebrity In Terms Of Drunken Driving

Three thirty on a Tuesday morning a man walked out of a bar got in his car and began the drive home. There were several problems that night. The first was he was parked almost adjacent to a light, which was red as he pulled out. The man continued to the next light, which was also red, and he stopped. The light turned green and he moved forward only to find his vision irritated by swirling red lights would be the second of the problems. A baffled police officer had watched as he ran the first the light and stopped at the second. Times were different in 1978.

Fast Forward to the near present

The laws have tightened up and there is a low tolerance for even a suspicion of drunk driving during the passing years. If you are a regular person you can expect a hefty fine and a period of suspension. If you are wealthy or celebrity you can expect a period of legal maneuvering and manipulation. Not too long ago actor Rip Torn was arrested for drunk driving after having won acquittal in another drunk driving arrest a few years before. As retold in How We Created Inga Marchand Elmore Rual Torn Etc. Torn in his first arrest was quite arrogant. In a separate incident Nicole Ritchie traveled up the exit ramp on to a freeway. Police found her stopped in a traffic lane, chatting on her cellphone, and allegedly intoxicated. By all reports, she was the polar opposite of Mr. Torn being cordial and cooperative. Their common ground other than being intoxicated (oops)…allegedly intoxicated at the time of the incident would be pleas of not guilty.

Now to the getting closer present

Opera star Jerry Hadley is arrested and acquitted on intent to drive intoxicated. Apparently, he was reported leaving a restaurant noticeable drunk. Probably in the same condition as the man, I talked about back in 1978. Someone seeing him get into a car gave a heads up phone call to 911. Police would find Hadley at the wheel as both sides agree very intoxicated with the key in the ignition. I cannot imagine what the specific arrest charge was. (Is there such a thing as IDI, intent to drive intoxicated?) Charges were dismissed, as the car was never started. The prosecution even though the key was in the ignition dropped the charges because they felt they could not prove intent to drive. Mr. Hadley claims he never intended to drive and put the key in the ignition out of habit. Somehow, this conjures visions of the courtroom scene from the movie “Animal House” with the spectators coughing up “something or other” into their hands.

In retrospect

Would that man from 1978 gotten that same kid glove treatment today? I doubt it. I eagerly wait for Ms. Ritchie’s courtroom drama to unfold, if it does continue to the next step. I often wonder if the officers that approached Ms. Ritchie (her identity given away by her vehicles plates) had the similar demeanor as the officer back that riverside New York suburb town of Nyack in 1978. He pushed back his hat as the driver rolled down his window and said “In twenty years on the force I’ve never seen anyone run one light and stop at another.” The driver answered speaking barely audible with “I didn’t see the other light.” The officers eyes grew wide and the driver knew he was snagged. Instinctively, the man responded, “Officer, they did this to me.” The patrolman went back into his car with the driver’s license and registration. Looking into his review mirror the man could see the cop slapping his steering wheel in convulsive laughter. After a time a calmer officer walked back to the driver handing him his license with a simple, “Go home.”

If the 1978 episode were to be repeated at this time the man would have been subjected to a sobriety test, declared intoxicated, and arrested. He would never be able to afford the lawyer of a celebrity or Opera star. The outcome would have been a fine and a suspended license or if he was lucky, his driving limited to work and back home. I think about that night every time I hear of someone I know who is pulled over and found to be under suspicion of intoxicated. Anyone can make a mistake but not everyone is a Jerry Hadley or a Nicole Ritchie.