Voters in Idaho just got over the scandal involving Larry Craig and a certain airport bathroom. Now, U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) has been arrested for DUI in Alexandria, Virginia. A DUI would appear to be less of a political threat than an alleged attempt at a homosexual bathroom tryst. However, Crapo is a Mormon and told police that he had three shots of vodka that night. In a state with the second highest Mormon population in the United States, such an admission is not going to be well received. It may be that the image of being a “Jack Mormon” could be a lasting problem for Crapo.
Crapo has previously said that he does not drink alcohol in adherence with his faith. The officer, however, reported that Crapo “indicated that he consumed several shots of vodka hours earlier and did not consume any more alcoholic beverages since.” The officer stated that he noticed slurred speech and “bloodshot and watery” eyes. Crapo had a blood alcohol level of 0.11 (the legal limit being 0.08) and was charged with driving while intoxicated. He was released on a $1,000 bond.
It was an ironic twist given our recent fight in Idaho over “Five Sisters Vodka,” which the state officials barred out of concern for the sensibilities of Mormons in the state. It would appear however than at least one Mormon in the state is far more receptive to the product than anticipated by the state officials.
Source: Medialite
Juris,
Kay Sverdling has a long history here. From what I can find out by looking up her case(s), she was pretty well screwed over by the system, but continued pro se until the courts found her to be a vexatious litigant, and she ended up with some serious contempt charges. In fact, on one thread some months ago, she was throwing around some accusations of the type that can get one hurt or killed. Gene H. and I tried to get her to stop with the accusations before bad things happened to her, but she will not listen. I truly feel sorry for her, but she just won’t let it go and pleads with the lawyers here to give her legal advice. The legal advice she has gotten is, “Get a local lawyer.”
She refuses to let it go, and cannot seem to find a lawyer who will take her case.
Idealist,
I try to chime in as much as I can.
“what help can a lawyer offer someone who is intentionally persecuted and denied all legal remedies usually accorded.”
That is a pretty general and open-ended question. If it entails incarceration drafting and filing a petition for habeus corpus in the appropriate venue would be an example of something a lawyer could offer someone as a possible solution. Can you be more specific?
To be clear, I am not saying that lawyers are the panacea to those wrongfully accused or those denied their constitutional rights. However, good criminal defense attorneys are part of the solution rather than part of the problem, in that respect and in the grander scheme of things. With all its faults, our criminal justice system is still one of the better ones of the world, relatively speaking.
I am not familiar with KayVerding’s “problem” as you describe it, but if you are referring to someone requesting legal advice through this blog wondering why no response from an attorney guest, I could think of a number of reasons, the first which comes to mind is that this is not the forum for that sort of thing. But there are many others. I would have advised her to contact an experienced attorney in the area at issue. I am not sure if that was what you were getting at but nonetheless that is my kneejerk response.
Fatfingered that one. I can spell, really I can. Let’s try again.
Darren,
It ain’t hyperbole if it is the truth. :mrgreeen:
Juris,
Back again. My condolences and heartfelt appreciation for your story.
However, let me ask you, what help can a lawyer offer someone who is intentionally persecuted and denied all legal remedies usually accorded.
This apparently happened to KayVerding, and she supplied the technical terms to describe the measures taken against her. Surely someone here understood the problem. Why is it ignored.? Code of silence?
Do I expect lawyers to sacrifice themselves. No, but they do have their own organizations who can work for justice, and against abuse of the system.
No one here has explained that problem. Though Malisha has also touched on its existence.
JONATHAN do you DRINK?
OS contributed:
If we were to purge Congress of all the drunks, closet gays and adulterers, the place would be as empty as a Mississippi high school classroom during deer season.
~+~
Without resorting to hyperbole, I would say if we purged Congress of liars alone the resulting vacuum would crush the building.
Paul and Nick S.,
Good criminal defense lawyers (including those defending DUI/DWI defendants and guilty defendants) serve an important role for the rest of Americans in the American Justice system… they protect ALL our constitutional freedoms and help to ensure that the state and federal authorities don’t trample or encroach on the same. They make sure the state proves their case beyond a reasonable doubt. What you call a technicality is in place for a reason, and what a slippery slope doing away with those technicalities can cause.
Police and prosecutors, and juries can get it wrong (The West Memphis 3 cases are another example of overzealous police officers and prosecutors.
). How many instances have we seen here in which prosecutors have withheld or concealed exculpatory evidence? How many cases have we seen where DNA evidence reversed prior convictions years later. Anyone here who has been anything close to wrongly accused can relate.
My personal experience came when my wife came down with viral meningitis, of which I knew nothing about until after the fact. She woke up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain, claiming her tooth as the source. She grinds her teeth a lot so I figured maybe she cracked a tooth, called her dentist and scheduled emergency appt for early morning. By that time, my wife became “loopy” and was vomitting. I called the dentist back who told me that was not uncommon and to still bring her in. I did so, they had to wheel her in to the office from our vehicle. The dentist came in and put her on oxygen and I could tell he was in a panic, which sent me into even more of a panic. I immediately asked the dental assistant to dial 911. The dentist asked me to come outside and asked “what is she on?” implying illegal drug use. The paramedics showed up shortly thereafter with police officers as well, both giving me dirty looks and not acknowledging me. It turns out that the dentist told the 911 dispatcher that my wife was on drugs. Not until after the drug screening prick did the paramedics then start talking to me. It was a very scary time as I was worried sick about my wife’s health but also that they thought I had something to do with her being the way she was. My wife, luckily, was transported via ambulance to the nearest hospital and fully recovered. But I will never forget that feeling and those glares the police and paramedics gave me prior to the screening.
I hope that neither of you are ever wrongfully accused of something, as I am certain you would feel differently.
I knew a young Irish woman who was here in the states. She drank way too much; she was also a devout Catholic. One Sunday morning she called me weeping hysterically because she’d been arrested DWI the night before and her car was confiscated and she spent the night in a holding cell. I began to yell at her to put on her most uncomfortable high heels and walk the Hell to Church in the snow (January in New Jersey) and fling herself on her knees and thank God she didn’t kill anybody. And she stopped crying and she says she went to Church and she says she prayed and she later told me that experience was the luckiest thing to happen to her in her life. But a few months later her fiance jilted her and I told her that made it only the second luckiest thing. (He was a prize; he later married a Mafioso’s daughter and I danced at his wedding.)
Please, stay on the damn topic…. Apologizing to Non-existant Ghods resolves nothing! Taking personal responsibilty is where redemption starts. 2000 year dead Jesus is not good enough. He died for his own sins, not for any sins we commit today.
HERE in Sweden, a DUI will get you 30 days in the clinker.
And loss of your driving license for 6 months.
Alternate drivers or a taxi or public transport home is the rule.
SP
the app trail runs through the Shenandoah Valley to the west of DC, so yea, you are correct. Its not far from the District.
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EJC
What are EastBroadway’s lies. He said the religious are often hypocritical and he’s right(Crapo is one example, just like pastor Ted Haggard and child raping priests).
The rest of his post is a description of why he is thankful to lack boundage to a belief system created around one or many supposed and undetectable supernatural forces, depending on the flavor of religiosity.
What are the lies?
Thank you….. My dream is that other eyes will be opened, as yours have been.
Fastest growing ”RELIGION” around the world, folks???? Atheism & Agnosticism, folks……… The realization that for many millennia, humans have been lied to about the existance of Ghods……..
Paul:
“Using a technicality to get a DUI off is despicable.”
*******************
There are no “technicalities.” it either is the law or it is not the law.
Paul
who is the “we” you keep referring to? I don’t ‘yawn’ at the tragedies of human stupidity or the loss of life, so please don’t lump me or anyone else in with your less-than-accurate views. In fact, you may do a lot better at discussion if you dialed back the rants and ravings. There’s a craigslist page for that.
Why not be more specific? As mespo pointed out, generalizing is naive and provides an inaccurate view of the reality of law and drunk driving, which only serves to erode your own credibility.
mespo…that is not what I am saying. Using a technicality to get a DUI off is despicable. Oh the machine might have been out of sync..oh the person might have blown too hard, BS. He ran a red light. How many DUIs are in your local news paper (nearly every day) where it is the 3rd, 5th, 11th violation.
How many people die after driving down the road and having someone slam into them while running a red light, crossing the center line, crossing the median, going the wrong way a one way street or freeway?
I repeat…20 kids die due to a lone gunman, 200 kids die due to DUI and we yawn.
Defending DUI and getting someone off on a technicality is DESPICABLE!
Drunken Mormons and toe tapping tough guys. Idaho is a perfect example of where we’d all be if just middle aged white males voted.
Paul:
“To those who defend DUI and get people off on technicalities, you are the lowest of the low. Impairment kills people.”
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No one should have any defense if they are even charged with any crime. Just ship ’em off to the Château D’If and let ’em rot. Cops don’t make mistakes, hold grudges, or ever just flat out lie. Judges are always fair, impartial, brilliant, and geniuses.
Any you lawyers!! Well there is no need for anyone to protect anyone else’s rights. Everyone is well-educated in the law, well-spoken in public and able to trace arcane principles of jurisprudence from the time of William the Conqueror to the present. And the DUI laws … fair, fair, fair. They were NOT hardened in response to pressure from interest groups like the auto insurance industry with groups like MADD, SADD and maybe even RAD leading the way. Everything is the way it should be and you lawyers are just screwing it up.
This is the best of all possible worlds, Doctor Pangloss, except for those damnable lawyers who nobody needs except when they do!!!.
Per a comment on another site, what was Crapo doing in Va at that time? The Senate was in adjournment and he had not gone back to home and honey in Idaho. I do believe the Appalachian Trail runs through that part of Va.
If we were to purge Congress of all the drunks, closet gays and adulterers, the place would be as empty as a Mississippi high school classroom during deer season.
That would be a definite improvement over what we have.
Bob Morris, Great point. Straight vodka is the last stage of alcoholism for many.
As one who has been clean and sober for quite some time and thus has considerable experience in these matters, I can categorically say that doing vodka shots is not something that occasional drinkers do.