 Atlanta Braves Pitcher Derek Lowe was stopped Thursday night after he was spotted racing another car on an Atlanta street.
He was ultimately charged with DUI, reckless driving and improper lane change. From the information I’ve gathered from the short news article announcing the issue, here is my analysis of how Mr. Lowe could have handled this stop better and what penalties he faces.
Action 1: Lowe raced another car down an Atlanta street
Despite the fact I always think of the movie “Grease” when I hear about street racing, this is serious. The police do not tolerate racing, or any driving that looks to them like two or more drivers racing each another. If Derek Lowe was actually charged with racing, he’d be facing a $1000 fine and up to 12 months in jail. Reckless driving is also a misdemeanor charge with a fine of up to $1,000 and jail time up to one year.
Action 2: Lowe took the field sobriety tests
Field sobriety tests merely help an officer to make a decision to arrest or not arrest someone. They are not scientific and cannot be used in court to prove someone was intoxicated, just that in officer's opinion, the officer had reason to arrest the driver for being impaired by alcohol. Since no one has to take them, if you're ever in this position, ask the officer if these are voluntary, and then don't take them. I find it strange that Derek Lowe agreed to take the FSTs but refused the breath test.
Action 3: Lowe refused the breath test
Asking someone to take a breath test happens only after the person has been arrested for DUI. Under all other crime arrests, police read a Miranda warning before asking someone to give incriminating (hurtful, harmful) evidence. Miranda is never required when an officer asks someone to take a breath test. Since Derek Lowe was already on his way to jail for the night, he was probably smart to refuse the test. If he blew over the limit and the results were used to convict him of DUI, he would have been looking at jail for up to a year. As it is, no breath test mean no results to disprove in court. No breath test may mean no driver's license for a year, but perhaps the pitcher can hire a driver if he loses his license down the road.
Action 4: Press statement
Mr. Lowe’s press release is beautiful. There is nothing in his apology “I would like to apologize to my family, teammates, fans and the Braves organization for the attention arising from this matter” that gives the police any further information. His “this is a legal matter and I anticipate this case can promptly be resolved within the court system,” gives no excuses or details. Well done, Mr. Lowe.
Final thoughts
I find it amazing that there is no information about the other person who was racing. After all, it takes at least two cars to race. What happened to this driver? We have no details or know if the other participant will face charges similar to Derek Lowe’s.
Atlanta DUI Lawyers Clark & Towne
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