Would others arrested for drunk driving be able to bring their drinking buddies into court to testify that they were not really intoxicated? Does this only have weight when the person charged is a judge? Is this prosecutor just a suck-up? Inquiring minds want to know…
From Herald Net
(Oct. 30, 2012) — MILL CREEK — A longtime Snohomish County judge will face no charges after being arrested Aug. 29 for suspected drunken driving.
There is insufficient evidence to prove Snohomish County District Court Judge Timothy Ryan was drunk that night, and another judge likely would testify the man wasn’t impaired, according to documents released Monday under public records laws.
Ryan was pulled over by a Washington State Patrol trooper who said the judge was speeding and driving erratically along the Bothell-Everett Highway near Mill Creek.
Based on Ryan’s reportedly bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and the smell of alcohol, troopers asked him to perform sobriety tests. The judge declined. He was arrested and his vehicle impounded. Ryan was then driven home after refusing to submit to sobriety testing using a Breathalyzer at nearby Mill Creek police headquarters.
Although troopers believed Ryan exhibited signs of intoxication, a King County deputy prosecutor concluded that Ryan’s cause would be helped “most significantly” by the anticipated testimony of Roger Fisher, Ryan’s friend and fellow district court judge ….MORE