Tony La Russa arrested

[ballscribe]

Because he was too drunk to remember that he's a lawyer and that any lawyer would tell the perp to refuse to take it?

 

[zeke12]

Implied consent.

By driving, you consent to the test.

In most states, if you refuse the test, the penalties are roughly the same as a DUI. Automatic. No going to court and pleading down.

 

[Armchair_QB]

As a life long Cubs fan just let me say, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[cake in the rain]

Implied consent.

By driving, you consent to the test.

In most states, if you refuse the test, the penalties are roughly the same as a DUI. Automatic. No going to court and pleading down.

Yep, you could WIN your DUI case but still face penalties just as stiff from your refusal to consent to the BAC test. It would be a rather hollow victory.

Now, he SHOULD have been smart enough to decline the field sobriety test. Free legal advice to SportsJournalists.commers: It's a test you cannot pass. It's used by the police to gather evidence against you. Don't make it easier for them.

 

[Simon_Cowbell]

Implied consent.

By driving, you consent to the test.

In most states, if you refuse the test, the penalties are roughly the same as a DUI. Automatic. No going to court and pleading down.

Florida is one of those states.

 

[HeinekenMan]

Well, this explains it all. I've wondering for months why Florida drivers nearly plow you over only to spend 10 seconds crossing the next intersection after a red light.

I think he most likely fell asleep because he was tired. I've done this. And I've noticed in the past that a few beers tend to make me really sleepy. He's accepted responsibility. I can't imagine that anyone could ask for much more. After all, he wasn't toasted or anything. Maybe buzzed, but not toasted. If he was, in fact, sleepy, he might not have noticed any effect from the liquor.

 

[Big Buckin' agate_monkey]

Since no one was injured, is it too early to make a joke about how LaRussa can even slow up a green light?

Or how he should gone to the bullpen for a situational driver?

No, and I'm a Cardinals fan.

 

[spnited]

Well, this explains it all. I've wondering for months why Florida drivers nearly plow you over only to spend 10 seconds crossing the next intersection after a red light.

I think he most likely fell asleep because he was tired. I've done this. And I've noticed in the past that a few beers tend to make me really sleepy. He's accepted responsibility. I can't imagine that anyone could ask for much more. After all, he wasn't toasted or anything. Maybe buzzed, but not toasted. If he was, in fact, sleepy, he might not have noticed any effect from the liquor.

So La Russa shouldn't be punished for breaking the law?
He was legally drunk and behind the wheel of a vehicle. That is know as driving under the influence. Fine and license suspension should be mandatory.

 

[HeinekenMan]

Well, this explains it all. I've wondering for months why Florida drivers nearly plow you over only to spend 10 seconds crossing the next intersection after a red light.

I think he most likely fell asleep because he was tired. I've done this. And I've noticed in the past that a few beers tend to make me really sleepy. He's accepted responsibility. I can't imagine that anyone could ask for much more. After all, he wasn't toasted or anything. Maybe buzzed, but not toasted. If he was, in fact, sleepy, he might not have noticed any effect from the liquor.

So La Russa shouldn't be punished for breaking the law?
He was legally drunk and behind the wheel of a vehicle. That is know as driving under the influence. Fine and license suspension should be mandatory.

Oh, I'm not saying that he didn't commit a crime. I'm just saying that we shouldn't think ill of someone for this sort of act.

As for the penalty, it's just a slap on the wrist anyway. Nothing he can't handle in stride. It's probably a three-month suspension and a small fine. I would argue that it's probably fitting for his case. But I'd like to think that someone with a BAC three times as high should be slapped a little harder.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

The judge heard an impassioned closing argument in defense of Tony La Russa from his legal representative in his DUI case, HeinekenMan ...

 

[Shaggy]

Implied consent.

By driving, you consent to the test.

In most states, if you refuse the test, the penalties are roughly the same as a DUI. Automatic. No going to court and pleading down.

Yep, you could WIN your DUI case but still face penalties just as stiff from your refusal to consent to the BAC test. It would be a rather hollow victory.

Now, he SHOULD have been smart enough to decline the field sobriety test. Free legal advice to SportsJournalists.commers: It's a test you cannot pass. It's used by the police to gather evidence against you. Don't make it easier for them.

True story. I fell asleep at my girlfriends house and head home at 4 a.m. after I wake up. I get pulled over by a bored cop who notices I have a cap on, makes some lame-ass excuse that my blinker didn't come on quick enough and then proceeds to demand that I take a field sobriety test because of "reasonable suspicion." Whatever that means.

I look him right in the eye and say "You know what? I'd rather just go down to the station and do the breathalyzer right now. That will shut you up pretty quickly."

He lets me go.

 

[Shaggy]

Moral of the story. If you're completely sober, refuse the field sobrierty and do the breathalyzer. It's more fun and makes the cops feels stupid.

If you're hammered, might as well try to pass the field sobriety because skipping that step won't do you any good.

 

[Tom Petty]

Moral of the story. If you're completely sober, refuse the field sobrierty and do the breathalyzer. It's more fun and makes the cops feels stupid.

If you're hammered, might as well try to pass the field sobriety because skipping that step won't do you any good.

nope, always refuse the field sobriety and then say you want your lawyer present before making a "statement" ... blowing on the breathathingy.

 

[cake in the rain]

Moral of the story. If you're completely sober, refuse the field sobrierty and do the breathalyzer. It's more fun and makes the cops feels stupid.

If you're hammered, might as well try to pass the field sobriety because skipping that step won't do you any good.

Not true... first of all, YOU CANNOT PASS THE FIELD SOBRIETY. It is not pass/fail. It's just a way to gather evidence and build a case against you. You have the Constitutional right to decline to participate.

Beyond that, without the field sobriety test, the cops often have no reason to detain you further (short of testi-lying.)

For example, let's say you're stopped at a checkpoint or pulled over. You've exhibited no signs of improper driving, swerving, etc. You keep conversation with the cop to a minimum and don't roll your window down all the way. There is no reason to detain you. Maybe they do anyway. You decline the field sobriety. They take you in anyway and give you the Breathalyzer, which you narrowly fail.
BECAUSE you declined to incriminate yourself with the field sobriety, your lawyer has a lot of ammunition with which to fight your case.

You're always in danger of testi-lying.. i.e., the cop notices your eyes look red or your eyes are glassy or there is the smell of alcohol on your person... sometimes, it's true, but often this textbook stuff that they literally memorize and read like a script. But so many departments use audio and video recorders now that this can be easily refuted.

It's also worth noting that cops are human and go for the easy arrests. If they see that you understand your rights and are likely to be a pain in the ass about asserting them, they'll move on to easier prey.

Just for the record, I've never had a DUI, but have covered a lot of municipal court and seen good and bad DUI lawyers at work.

 

[STLIrish]

Good column on LaRussa today by P-D metro columnist Bill McClellan.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/columnists.nsf/billmcclellan/story/50012A0B2B186669862572A7000F54E5?OpenDocument

 

[Ellis Redding]

Cardinals fans gave him a standing O before today's spring training game.

Another example of the best fans in all of baseball......

 

[Armchair_QB]

 

[Oz]

Free legal advice to SportsJournalists.commers: It's a test you cannot pass. It's used by the police to gather evidence against you. Don't make it easier for them.

No way, I would take it. Someone once called me in for reckless driving because I didn't let him pass me -- he was so close to my bumper, I decided to slow to the 15 mph speed limit and boxed him in so he couldn't pass. Eventually, he passed me as we flipped each other off, just another Saturday night. Except his girlfriend, who was on the phone, called me into the cops. They followed me from a bar to a friend's apartment for five minutes.

They wanted me to take the test ... I wanted to take that test. I don't drink, so I would have passed it with flying colors and he would have looked foolish. But after not smelling alcohol on my breath and telling him my story, he decided not to harass me anymore and drove away. Which bummed me out.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

I think the free legal advice of you-cannot-pass-the-test means there is enough subjectivity in the supposed objectivity of a cop grading the test that anyone the cops want to fail the test will indeed fail the test.

 

[Oz]

I think the free legal advice of you-cannot-pass-the-test means there is enough subjectivity in the supposed objectivity of a cop grading the test that anyone the cops want to fail the test will indeed fail the test.

Even if I've got absolutely zero alcohol in my system? And no liquor on my breath?