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Attorney's intervention backfires
by Lenny Roberts
Sometimes, it's not a good idea to call your lawyer when you're
in trouble - for their sake.
An Oak View woman was arrested Monday night on suspicion of driving
under the influence after being summoned by a man stopped by
a Sheriff's deputy for a minor mechanical infraction. That was
his mistake No. 1.
While questioning the man about the condition of his vehicle,
Deputy Doug Klug reported that he smelled alcohol on the man's
breath during his investigation, and asked the man to submit
to a field sobriety test. The man said that he was going to call
his attorney from his cell phone, which he did - Mistake No.
2.
When the well-groomed woman arrived at the site of the traffic
stop in front of the Casitas Municipal Water District building
from her nearby home, she reportedly demanded to know, as his
attorney, the probable cause for the traffic stop - Mistake No.
3.
According to Detective Rick Jones, the woman was asked not to
intervene as Klug continued his investigation into the man's
sobriety, despite the fact that she identified herself as his
lawyer. While talking to Klug, the woman raised the officer's
suspicions about her own sobriety, and was asked to perform the
standard FST. Klug had determined that man originally stopped
for the minor vehicle infraction had been drinking, but was not
impaired to drive in the eyes of the law. What happens next is
most predictable.
The woman allegedly failed to pass her FST, and, according to
the report, her blood-alcohol level reached the illegal limit
of .08 percent - twice. Mistake Nos. 4 and 5.
The woman was booked into the county's main jail with bail set
at $5,000. It is unknown if the man whom she came to defend was
called to post her bail.
Although it has been verified that the arrested woman is a resident
of Oak View and licensed to practice law in the state of California,
the Ojai Valley News does not typically publish the names of
those arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence unless
he or she is involved in an accident or there are other circumstances
that would merit the release of his or her name.
© 2002 The Ojai Valley News
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