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Friday, November 07, 2008

Courts - "New Jersey Judge Faces Ethics Charges for DWI Antics With Chapstick and Penny"

An interesting story today by Maria Vogel-Short of the New Jersey Law Journal - some quotes:

Peter Tourison isn't the first judge to come up for discipline as the result of a drunken driving conviction, but he may be the first to have tried to beat the DWI rap by exploiting the foibles of New Jersey's new breath-testing device.

Tourison, 57, who sits in three Cape May County, N.J., towns, was charged with driving while intoxicated on March 27, after he failed field sobriety tests and an Alcotest at the police station. He later pleaded guilty.

The DWI itself would have been enough for the state Advisory Committee on Attorney Ethics to bring charges, which it did, but what he did while in custody at the station could stiffen his discipline.

Tourison attempted to apply Chapstick to his lips, which delayed the Alcotest. According to protocol for operating the device, nothing can be in or around a driver's mouth for 20 minutes before the test is administered. When the police took the Chapstick away, Tourison produced and used another tube before it, too, was confiscated.

Then, when a patrolman turned his back, Tourison placed a penny in his mouth. It's a common ploy, says Herbert Leckie, of DWI Consultants in Lebanon, N.J., who trains lawyers and police on Alcotest operation. While the penny won't affect the test, the presence of an object in a suspect's mouth may show the officer didn't perform a proper oral inspection, thus fouling the testing process.

Tourison's test showed a 0.08 Alcotest reading, the threshold for drunken driving. He pleaded guilty to the DWI charge on June 25 before Penns Grove Municipal Judge David E. Krell. A separate charge of careless driving was dismissed. * * *

The ACJC charged Tourison with violating Canon 1, which requires judges to observe the highest standards of conduct and violating Canon 2A, which compels a judge to respect and comply with law and uphold the public confidence. He was also charged with violating Canon 5A(2), which mandates judges not demean the judicial office through their extra-judicial activities.

The ACJC also charged that Tourison violated Rule 2:15-8(a)(1), with misconduct in office, and Rule 2:15-8(a)(6), with conduct prejudicial to the administration of office which brings the judicial office in disrepute.

Judges convicted of DWI are issued at least a reprimand and higher discipline, such as censure or suspension from the bench, if there are aggravating factors. It is possible that Tourison's police-station antics might cause the ACJC to seek a heavier sanction.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 7, 2008 08:16 AM
Posted to Courts in general