I picked a fine week to join my family on vacation! Gwinnett County Commissioner Charles Bannister was arrested for DUI!

A "concerned citizen" noticed a county car parked outside a drinking establishment and notified the sheriff's department. Apparently, a deputy had nothing better to do that day but sit and watch the car for an hour before the driver came out and started driving away. According to the arrest report, the deputy noticed driving errors such as failing to maintain lane (cop-talk for weaving), which gave him U.S. Supreme Court permission to pull the car over.

Mr. Bannister failed the field sobriety tests, in the deputy's opinion, and the commissioner went off to jail. Dissatisfied with the 0.000 reading on the breath test at the jail (after all, the Commissioner admitted he had been drinking!), the deputy shackled the man and took him to Gwinnett Medical Center for a blood test. Had you or I suffered this, we'd still be waiting for the blood test result from the crime lab. Lucky for Mr. Bannister, the GBI stopped everything else and tested his blood: 0.000.

Why the big hub-bub? First those field tests on the side of the road are highly subjective. This means that if in the officer's opinion, you failed, then for all intents and purposes, you failed and you're going to jail. Mr. Bannister is apparently 71 years old. When the field tests were first developed by a psychologist, the recommendations were to use them on driver under age 55. Today, the "recommended" age limit is 65. Had the deputy followed his training, he never should have asked Mr. Bannister to take field tests because of his age.

The breath machine, while not perfect, can apparently tell when someone is okay to drive, if the operator is "listening." When law enforcement officer ask a driver "have you been drinking?" they really aren't interested in the answer because most drivers either deny it outright, or only admit to two or three drinks regardless of how many they've really had. I'm sure that deputy thought Mr. Bannister was lying to him.

Politics aside, I'm glad Mr. Bannister was not over the legal limit. I must take vacations to refresh my mind and body to do my best for my clients. I'm happy that Mr. Bannister found a zealous advocate while I was unable to assist him.