Story Archive

Expert Fail

Defense lawyer Tom Hudson wrote The Drinker’s Guide to Driving. He once got a DUI client off by videotaping law-enforcement officers driving badly in ways cops claim make them suspect a driver is intoxicated. He holds law-enforcement certifications. Naturally, he knows local sheriff’s deputies. So when, having been pulled over by another Sarasota, Fla., sheriff’s deputy, he saw Sgt. Chuck Flint, he greeted him with a handshake and a “Hi, Chuck.” But “Chuck” thought Hudson was speaking slowly and softly. “All this is in stark contrast to the defendant’s normal behavior and demeanor,” he recorded. Hudson admitted to having had “a” drink, but declined a field sobriety test. He was arrested and taken to jail, where he consented to a breath test (which he’s been trained to administer, but which he’s attacked in many court cases), and his blood alcohol measured .121 and .128 percent, and a blood test (which defense lawyers say is harder to challenge). Later, he declined to tell a journalist why he admitted drinking or consented to the tests. But he did say “it’s been an eye-opening experience to see what my clients have been going through for the past 15 years.” (AC/Sarasota Herald-Tribune) ...Maybe now he’ll write The Lawyer’s Guide to Getting Arrested.