Owning It

They went to a baseball game together on that warm, damp night.  It was to be yet another in a long string of "date nights" where the lovely couple could enjoy festivities as they did before they married.  The humidity hung in the air with the same heaviness as the anticipation they felt for the evening and as they found their seats, they took in the lights, the atmosphere, and the energy of the field.  

The couple was very attractive and it wasn't unusual for either of them to receive longing or flirtatious glances from the opposite sex.  They had made it a bit of a game; a game that would determine which of the two would be the designated driver for the next outing.  Unfortunately, the humidity coupled with the fact that neither of them had eaten earlier in the day made each adult beverage they consumed more intense and before long, the concept of a designated driver went by the way side.  

He drove them home and didn't react quickly enough to the deer leaping onto the highway in front of the vehicle and his reaction sent the vehicle into a ravine.  They survived the ordeal, however, neither would ever walk again and their hopes of children and a "normal" family life disappeared before their very eyes.  The guilt and anger over his mistake drove him to commit suicide a few months later and his loving wife was left all alone.

This story illustrates how one person's bad decision can become a decision with consequences that ripple throughout time and space as we know it.  The wife will be forever transformed physically as well as emotionally; forced to face her condition alone and without the love of her life.  He didn't "own" his mistake for one reason or another and the aggregate result was tragedy heaped upon tragedy.  No one made it out unscathed and as a matter of fact, it was infinitely worse than he imagined it could be.

Every day of our lives we make decisions that, while they may not be life or death, cause ripples in the cosmos and certainly impact those around us.  Speaking for myself, I've made so many mistakes that I've actually written a book about my mistakes and how not to commit them.  I own them all; they are all mine and no one else is responsible.  I've been at the bottom of the barrel and I've been at the top of the heap and none of it equals the joy of just "being" in the here and the now.

I'm not one to hide behind anything, nor have I ever been; I don't hide behind a religious facade though I am a Christian (a lousy one at that, see Romans 3), I didn't join the military service because it was something that would help me in a run for office but it was a childhood dream fulfilled, and I don't hide behind the facade of righteousness as so many involved in politics do with impunity today.  I can't.  I'm far too flawed.  Too many of us wear masks to hide who we are and present a visage of who we are not, but who we wish we could be or whom we desire TO be.

I'm an imperfect human being and I own that 100%.  

You will fail your spouse, you will fail your partner, you will fail your children, and you will even fail your pets, but failing is only the beginning of the human experience.  Once we fail, we can start over and change how we do things so as to have a positive outcome that benefits everyone.  If you're one of the cats running for office right now and you're doing it to stroke your  ego or to cover up your mistakes, you're lying to yourself and to everyone who even considers casting a vote for you.  Hit yourself in the head with a sledgehammer because you're of no use to the rest of us. 

Life is easier when we own who we are and what we've done in our past and what we're doing right now.  I know a few people who are scampering about right now waiting until filing day to see what kind of opposition they will face and they do so at their own peril.  We have to live in the here and now and own where we are and what we may or may not face in the future.  It's all dust in the wind anyway, isn't it?

Of course, this has been just my opinion and I could be wrong but I seriously doubt it.


Gorilla

Carolyn Caudill Makes DUI Laws Look Silly

In Oklahoma, if you get a DUI, you're pretty much screwed for a while.  You're going to pay a hefty fine, you're going to probably spend the night in jail, you're going to fight to keep your license (which is unlikely), and it will be on your criminal record for a very, very long time.

This is, of course, unless you are an elected County official who works in a building just across the alley from where the judge who handles your case will be hanging out.

According to a shocking story on NewsOk.com, Carolyn Caudill's attorney W. Shawn Jefferson (wonder what the "W" stands for and from his Facebook page, you can see something about the running of the bulls) filed a motion to have Caudill's records of her DUI arrest sealed, expunged, cast into the sea of forgetfulness just in time for her to run again for Oklahoma County Clerk.  This election would giver her a sixth term.  A sixth term.  That's right, a sixth term in  office.  Take a look at this little morsel from NewsOk.com and see if it doesn't

make your blood boil:

In a petition to the Oklahoma County District Court "for expungement and sealing of records," attorney W. Shawn Jefferson states she is eligible under state law to ask that the case records be removed from public view and sealed.

Jefferson wrote that the harm to Caudill's "privacy and/or the dangers of unwarranted adverse consequences … outweigh the public interest in retaining the records."

Jefferson is asking that the Oklahoma City Municipal Court and departments including the Oklahoma City police be directed to seal records related to the incident.

In the petition, he also requests an order "mandating that the subject official actions shall be deemed never to have occurred."

You need to check out her lawyer here and here. 

No, it isn't a clipping from a Lost Ogle satire, but it is real and what the attorney is asking.  Caudill could be in danger?  Danger?  The only danger would be her getting busted again and being beaten in the primary by Charlie Phillips.

Adverse consequences?  Wait...should would have to pay like every other citizen?  Heaven forbid.  The real adverse issue I am sure that she's worried about is having her rear-end handed to her in the primary by Charlie Phillips.

The people are once again being boondoggled, bamboozled, blinded, and fooled with the ultimate in trickery bred from the loins of long-term, career politicians.  Caudill should be ashamed of herself and just retire with some sense of dignity left.  If you haven't decided whom you will vote for in this GOP primary, I suggest you vote for a real Republican who understands (and can spell) transparency; Charlie Phillips.  

My support is behind Charlie Phillips and for good reasons; she is a small business owner, she has ten years of experience in the Clerk's office, and she has been nothing but candid with me.  It's refreshing to talk to someone running for office who isn't a narcissistic, egomaniac with the personality of a Barbie or Ken doll.  Charlie is the real deal for Oklahoma County Clerk.  

Of course, this is just my opinion and I could be wrong, but a intensely doubt it.

Gorilla

 

Series on DUI Part 2: Legislators, Elected Officials and Cover-Ups

There have been multiple stories about drunk driving published by the newspapers in Oklahoma and plenty covered by the electronic media.  Most recently, KTOK covered a story regarding a State Representative who came rolling out of a bar late one evening to find his vehicle stolen.  Representative John Trebilcock is not a stranger to problems with drinking, he has been arrested for DUI in the past and his arrest took place two years after he authored DUI legislation himself.

Trebilcock Mugshot

Trebilcock was arrested in March of 2007, refused to take a breathalyzer test, was held for about six hours and then released after paying...wait for it...a bond of $570 (probably less than his bar tab).  His excuse for smelling like booze?  He told officers that he was at a bar, kissing a girl who had been drinking.   The Tulsa World covered this story exceptionally well - particularly the part about his authoring "tough" DUI legislation.  How did Trebilcock's trouble turn out?  Well, he got off with barely a slap on the wrist.  From a DUI blog:

Tulsa, Oklahoma. Republican State Representative John Trebilcock, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma was in court to formally change his plea on a criminal charge stemming from a DUI arrest last year.

Representative John Trebilcock entered into a deal with prosecutors in July of 2007. Trebilcock needed to comply with various court imposed restrictions for six months. Upon successful completion of the court terms Treilcock’s no contest DUI plea would be reduced to a no contest Reckless Driving plea.

Trebilcock was required to work 10 days for the City of Tulsa and attend an alcohol class. John attended a DUI victim impact panel and pay fines of $750.00. This most likely will not help for Trebilcock’s next re-election, but a DUI arrest did not prevent Republican Jane Hague from reclaiming her County Council seat. Too bad our elected officials that make laws cannot follow them.

Rabon Mugshot

KOKH Fox 25 had a pretty fascinating story about a State Senator who found himself in quite the pickle as well.  He was pulled over, refused a breathalyzer test only to find from a blood test that his blood alcohol content to be twice the legal limit.  His BAC was .16.  Mind you, Senator Jeff Rabon wasn't merely pulled over for failing to stop at a stop sign or failure to use his turn signals.  It was a three-car crash that promulgated his arrest.  Like his Republican colleague in the House, Rabon too is not a stranger to problems with alcohol.  The Tulsa World has the whole history on Rabon - a man who was actually given a ride home by a law enforcement officer after being found intoxicated.  Oh, and he was merely charged with a misdemeanor charge.  From Bubbaworld.com:

He was reportedly twice busted for alcohol related offenses in Tulsa in 1989, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence, driving under suspension, transporting an open container and driving without insurance and driving while intoxicated. In the first incident he received a one-year deferred sentence, in the second incident he received two one-year suspended sentences and 40 hours of community service.

In 2005, Rabon’s truck crashed into a ditch in Hugo and an OHP trooper was disciplined for not testing to see if alcohol was involved in the crash.

In the same story by Fox 25, an Oklahoma City Police Officer refused to take a breathalyzer test, as did a former Luther Chief of Police.  You see, the hypocrisy stacks up so fast in Oklahoma where DUI is concerned, you need wings to stay above it.  And the trial lawyers love it because they know the law and they know that the few prosecutors who actually DO give a rip about DUI have their hands tied.

If you think the problem isn't horrific, consider the following hypothetical:
1.  A man gets arrested in Moore by Moore police and charged/convicted of DUI in city court.
2.  The same man gets arrested in Blanchard for DUI, charged and convicted in city court.
3.  The same man gets arrested in Edmond for DUI, charged and convicted in city court.
4.  The same man gets picked up in Oklahoma County by the Sheriff, gets charged and finally is charged in the Oklahoma County Courts.

He cannot be charged with a felony for previous DUIs because the municipal courts are not "courts of record."  Meaning, they sort of "don't count."  This is how we hear of these terrible stories where after multiple DUIs, the jackass ends up killing someone.  Only then, it seems, are people seriously pissed off about the problem.  And if we're talking about a legislator or someone who is on the "inside" of an elected official's web of protection, you can pretty much rest assured that it will be swept under the rug and ignored.  Until that person kills someone, of course.

Legislators and elected officials play fast and loose with the truth of the situation and the gravity therein.  They say they talk DUI seriously, but clearly if they were serious about the problem, they would require all DUI arrests to be handled by "courts of record" - the counties where the arrest was made.  Why, you may be asking yourself, aren't they turning these cases over to the counties?

Because DUI arrests and charges in municipalities are revenue producers for those municipalities.  One legislator told me that they had tried to push for such legislation previously, but the establishment Republicans and many of the rural Democrats fought against it because they small towns and cities would lose that revenue.  Even KWTV did a story about this issue a few years back and ironically, the story was handled by the wife of the current Oklahoma County District Attorney, David Prater.

What was important a few years ago, apparently isn't so important now, is it?

Prosecutors don't want to go "on the record" to talk about it, particularly when it hits close to home.  They have to work with members of the law enforcement community on a daily basis and while trying cases in the media is sexy and easy to do where politics are concerned, it's a little more difficult to navigate the waters where local law enforcement may be forced to answer really tough questions about how DUIs are handled for elected officials and their friends.

Next:  What Is Your Community Doing?

Series on DUI Part 1: The Problem

Driving under the influence of alcohol has reached epidemic proportions across the nation and though some measures have served to deter some drunk drivers, statistics are frightening.  Consider the statistics from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD):

This year, 10,839 people will die in drunk-driving crashes - one every 50 minutes.
An average drunk driver has driven drunk 87 times before first arrest.
Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens and one out of three of those is alcohol related.

It is certainly enough to get our attention - or at least it should.

There is some discussion, some movement with the Oklahoma legislature to push for a required interlock device for those arrested and convicted of DUI, and that is more than laudable.  From www.thestatecolumn.com:

A bill to reduce Oklahoma’s drunk driving fatalities has cleared the Senate and is on its way to the House of Representatives. Dixie and Keith Swezey, of Edmond, and other family members watched from the Senate Gallery as lawmakers voted unanimously for Senate Bill 529, the Erin Elizabeth Swezey Act. The bill is named for the Swezeys’ 20-year-old daughter, Erin, who was killed by a drunk driver in 2009. 

Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, is principal author of SB 529, which is authored by Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City, in the House. Jolley and the Swezeys met with reporters shortly after Tuesday’s passage of the measure. 

“We’re trying to keep drunk drivers off the road. That is our purpose. Today was a significant step towards that direction. I’m very honored to serve in a body that agreed with that principle and moved that public policy forward,” Jolley said “I want to thank publicly all the members of the State Senate today who gave their voice of support for this bill.”

This is a great move, a definite attempt to curb the problem.  But there is still a bigger problem looming that just has not yet been addressed - the issue of municipal courts not being required to charge and prosecute DUIs in county court.  Were this the case, many of these habitual offenders would be too busy in jail to be out on the roads. You see, local municipalities are not "courts of record," therefore, prosecutors cannot charge individuals with felonies who have had multiple DUIs unless their previous DUIs have been adjudicated in "courts of record" - such as county courts.

It is a problem that will be discussed at length on this blog in a future report.

Reading stories such as the one in the Oklahoman today, where Midwest City students get a "gory look at  drunken driving consequences," the perception presented that kids believe drinking and driving is a very, very bad thing.  But then, they read stories (or rather see them on television) about elected officials who are at bars in the middle of the week until 2am and get their vehicles stolen - oh, and by the way, this legislator has a "history of DUI."  Or, kids remember stories about State  Senators like Rabon and his friends who were picked up on DUI and what happened to them?  Nothing of consequence. 

We send mixed messages, we hear tough talk from elected officials and prosecutors about DUI, but when it comes to policing their own, well, it boils down to just that...talk. 

Coming next:  Legislators, elected officials and cover-ups.  Are there two sets of guidelines for drunk driving convictions?

I leave you with this video...it is emblematic of the whole problem.  This lawyer speaks of "ethics," and says, "I don't care about my clients' innocence or guilt."

Hidden Story: State DUI Arrests Increasing

Drunk driving statistics are what they are and according to a few pieces out there in the mainstream media, arrests are on the increase.  The reasons are difficult to ascertain - it could simply be that law enforcement is becoming increasingly adept at nailing drunk drivers or it could be that there are more people who haven't gotten the message just yet. 

Here is a story from the Tulsa World's Deon Hampton, December 31, 2010:

With the number of drunken driving arrests increasing statewide, law enforcement officials are cautioning everyone to be aware of intoxicated motorists on New Year's Eve. 

There were 18,996 total arrests made for DUI in Oklahoma in 2009 and 18,980 in 2008, U.S. Department of Justice records show. 

Those numbers are a large increase over the 15,884 arrests made in 2005. 

More arrests are expected New Year's Eve when highway patrol troopers will stop drivers at various checkpoints.
Trooper Quenton Payne said troopers are looking for speeders, drivers erratically changing lanes or failing to use signals and cars with inactive head and taillights. 

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently released a study that found 10 percent of those surveyed admitted to driving while being drunk in the last year. 

The roadside service agency also says 209 people were killed and 3,452 injured in vehicle collisions in Oklahoma where alcohol played a role in 2009. 

Three out of about 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash during their lives, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In a story from the previous day, the paper talks about the fines, the trouble that comes with a DUI. 

Stephen Fabian Jr., an Oklahoma City criminal defense attorney since 1986, said that attorney fees can run from $500 to about $50,000, depending on whether there was an alcohol-related crash or injury and whether it's a first offense. 

Fabian said a simple first-offense misdemeanor charge usually costs $3,500 to $5,000 in lawyer's fees, but court costs in Oklahoma County District Court run about $950 per case. 

A judge also can order you to pay for your jail costs. An overnight stay in the Oklahoma County jail can fluctuate but costs an average of $45 a day, Oklahoma County sheriff's spokesman Mark Myers said. 

And that's not taking into consideration actual fines for pleading guilty or being convicted of driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 or higher or the traffic violations which resulted in the traffic stop or wreck. 

The first offense for DUI is a misdemeanor, punishable by a year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine. 

A district attorney supervision fee during a probationary period, if there is one, is $40 a month in Oklahoma County, Fabian said.

A law firm has its own basket at DPS.

But there are some inherent problems here.  First, if the DUI takes place in a rural municipality, it is up to the municipality to determine whether or not they will allow the charges reduced to say, reckless driving.  Second, the way the system is set up right now, municipalities don't have to report to the District Courts.  Meaning, if a DUI takes place in, say, Crescent, Oklahoma, the case will not be reported to District Courts and not show up on any of the OSCN records.  The reasons for this are multitudinous - including revenue streams for local municipalities and the Trial Bar.  If an attorney has the ability to negotiate with the municipality and plead the case for a lesser charge, the more billable hours the attorney can rack up and more revenue can be produced for the municipality in fines, etc.  Lastly, the state statutes regarding the Department of Public Safety are pretty iron-clad and that is some relief.  But clearly, the problem isn't going away and the statistics themselves show that whatever we're doing now isn't working.

[Note:  DUI in Oklahoma has become a cottage industry for the Trial Bar.  So much so that the law firm of the gentleman mentioned above has its own basket at the Department of Public Safety.  See above.]

The system is horribly broken and it needs repair sooner rather than later.

Lord willing, we can get something done.