Mayor's daughter arrested for DWI

[RedScare]

concur the underage aspect has not been mentioned cause she is "not a party animal" to quote the mayor. the Mayor says that after talking with her that her arrest was a mistake. The arresting officer said she failed the sobriety test.

What i found interesting is that they took her to Mykawa (the safer jail) instead of Downtown which is was closer.

Most of the women are taken to Mykawa. Not sure if none are taken to Reisner or not, but every time I have a female client, they seem to be at Mykawa, including westside arrests.

[gnu]

Most of the women are taken to Mykawa. Not sure if none are taken to Reisner or not, but every time I have a female client, they seem to be at Mykawa, including westside arrests.

not that i know much about it but.....

i always heard that they took most of the juveniles to mykawa.

[RedScare]

not that i know much about it but.....

i always heard that they took most of the juveniles to mykawa.

Juveniles are taken to the Juvenile Detention Center. It used to be on W. Dallas. Now, most are taken downtown to the new Detention Center at 301 San Jacinto.

BTW, 17 is adult...barely.

[Pumapayam]

I heard on the radio this morning that:

#1 The mayor want to review the sobriety result (i.e. he thinks it might be a mistake)

#2 If it is not a mistake, he wants he daughter to confess (i.e. she has denied being drunk so far)

I smell drama. :closedeyes:

[native_Houstonian]

Everytime I get taken in, they take me to Mykawa. When my pimp-daddy and I compare notes, Mykawa is a lot nicer facility than downtown. And, I have a good relationship with Myra, the night baliff. Sometimes, she'll let me make 2 phone calls if my p-daddy's line is busy.

[musicman]

I heard on the radio this morning that:

#1 The mayor want to review the sobriety result (i.e. he thinks it might be a mistake)

#2 If it is not a mistake, he wants he daughter to confess (i.e. she has denied being drunk so far)

I smell drama. :closedeyes:

Maybe for her probation the Mayor will make her paint over graffiti

[Trae]

This isn't news. I wish the news story would get of this. Hopefully Culberson gets attacked by a pack of pitbulls, so this story can dissapear.

[MarthaG]

This isn't news. I wish the news story would get of this. Hopefully Culberson gets attacked by a pack of pitbulls, so this story can dissapear.

I agree that this is NOT news that should be getting all this coverage. However this is what happens when your Daddy is in the public eye. Which is more reason to not get caught in a vehicle that reeks of alcohol, weaving across lanes with it's headlights off. A GIRL at 17 yrs old should have more snap than that.

[Parrothead]

I'm surprised at the lack of seriousness in the responses here, but then drunk driving is just a joke, I guess. I mean, it's okay if everyone did it when they were kids, right? Y'all didn't kill anyone so it's not that big of a deal...?

[TJones]

Parrot, it hasn't been proven that she was drunk driving. I have been pulled over, accused of drunk driving, when I knew full well I wasn't . I have been cuffed and stuffed into a DPS mustang, and had to take the breathalizer at the station, total inconvience. The officer pulled me over for a headlight, and had me go through the whole field sobriety, when it came to the standing on one leg bit I told him there was no way becasue of my Psyotic nerve was pinched at the time. That's why he thought I was drunk, so, I passed the breathalizer, and was driven back to my truck and released with a warning for the light. She got taken down because she wouldn't do the breathalizer. I think she did the right thing.

[nmainguy]

and all you have on is a pair of shorts,

You kept your shorts on?? What a wuss!

[hope your friend is OK]

[ricco67]

I'm surprised at the lack of seriousness in the responses here, but then drunk driving is just a joke, I guess. I mean, it's okay if everyone did it when they were kids, right? Y'all didn't kill anyone so it's not that big of a deal...?

It's not that drunk driving is a joke, it's just that it happens every day and that this just HAPPENS to be the daughter of the mayor and that's the only reason why it made the news.

If something more happend (car accident) THEN it would make the news, but no more so than Jo-bubba running over a mailbox in the montrose.

I think she's probably worried about what her dad is going to do to her.

As far as his hiring a lawyer to defend her, it would be the same thing I would do if my daughter did the same thing Regardless. I'd have Redscare right there to either get my daughter off or plea some sort of deal.

And then she gets a serious talking to when we got home and she will wish she got the death penalty.

[TJones]

You kept your shorts on?? What a wuss!

[hope your friend is OK]

You think George Constanza had shrinkage !? It didn't come out for 2 days after that little dip in the river.

I haven't talked to Mr. Stagner in sometime. I really thought we were goners. Like I said, it seemed like a kick @$$ idea at the time. As soon as I hit the water, I was like "YOU IDIOT !" I consider myself a very very good swimmer, Baywatch ain't got jack on me, and I thought if I don't make it quick I am gonna die. I do not endorse or reccomend doing that type of stunt to anyone.

[escapee]

Parrot, it hasn't been proven that she was drunk driving. I have been pulled over, accused of drunk driving, when I knew full well I wasn't . I have been cuffed and stuffed into a DPS mustang, and had to take the breathalizer at the station, total inconvience. The officer pulled me over for a headlight, and had me go through the whole field sobriety, when it came to the standing on one leg bit I told him there was no way becasue of my Psyotic nerve was pinched at the time. That's why he thought I was drunk, so, I passed the breathalizer, and was driven back to my truck and released with a warning for the light. She got taken down because she wouldn't do the breathalizer. I think she did the right thing.

Ok, ok. I really tried to let this one slide by.

What is a PSYOTIC nerve? Perhaps you meant SCIATIC nerve, which runs from the hip down the leg.

Or did you mean PSYCHOTIC? Which is a mental condition..........hmmmmm. Let me reread all your many posts and maybe I can make a diagnosis.

Seriously, tho, driving after ANY alcohol at all is irresponsible. But, a 17 year old is especially serious. I hope this will be a wakeup call for her and her family. And, yes, it shouldn't be news, but that's life in the public eye. At least she was smarter than old Mel and kept her mouth shut!

Edited August 2, 2006 by escapee

[TJones]

Ok, ok. I really tried to let this one slide by.

What is a PSYOTIC

I may actually be spelling this one wrong. PsyAtic. meant "A" not "O". Apologies. It is a nerve in your hip that gets pinched when your spine is out of alignment. Hurts like Hell !

Edited August 2, 2006 by TJones

[Trae]

Ok, ok. I really tried to let this one slide by.

What is a PSYOTIC

[escapee]

I may actually be spelling this one wrong. PsyAtic. meant "A" not "O". Apologies. It is a nerve in your hip that gets pinched when your spine is out of alignment. Hurts like Hell !

I was editing my post while you were writing your reply. See above.

[RedScare]

I'm surprised at the lack of seriousness in the responses here, but then drunk driving is just a joke, I guess. I mean, it's okay if everyone did it when they were kids, right? Y'all didn't kill anyone so it's not that big of a deal...?

Well, I considered running screaming into the night, but since Homeland Security didn't raise the terror alert level, I thought that would be a bit of an overreaction.

[Guest danax]

You mean like the time in college my best friend and I jumped off a bridge in Mississippi into a raging river in the middle of winter after a horrendous storm that caused the river to be 15 feet above it's norm, while broken trees and who knows what, are rushing by in water so murky it looks like a giant Cafe' Latte roaring by at about 5 to 10 mph, and you jump in and try to swim to the side while your best friend who jumped in with you almost drowns because he got hit in the head by a log as soon as he hit the water, and then you almost die of hypothermia because it is about 43* outside, and all you have on is a pair of shorts, and you just used every muscle in your body to make it to the side before you get pushed into the train tresles about 1000 feet down river ?

I know of what you speak. I almost died (maybe had a few seconds of breath left) at age 20 in a raging, rain-swollen river in N. CA. I decided to kayak the thing alone, no lifejacket, then tipped and got sucked deep under in a flash. No one had taught me while the true power of moving water. Actually, I'm sure it had been mentioned at times growing up but what did they know.

I think the Mayor should not hire the expensive attorney but rather let the breathalyzer and judge make the determination and set an example for, not only his daughter, but all others watching, that guilt is not something that can be neutralized by being able to afford the best attorney.

Not to sound self-righteous, but I will lose respect for him if he goes the sleaze route on this one..

[RedScare]

I think the Mayor should not hire the expensive attorney but rather let the breathalyzer and judge make the determination and set an example for, not only his daughter, but all others watching, that guilt is not something that can be neutralized by being able to afford the best attorney.

Not to sound self-righteous, but I will lose respect for him if he goes the sleaze route on this one..

If you had even the SLIGHTEST idea how inaccurate those machines are, or how badly many police officers misjudge these cases, you would never make ridiculous statements like that. I won't bore you people with some of the comical police work I have seen in 19 years (including my years as an assistant district attorney), but I dare say that the parent who allows his child to be judged by a system that consists only of police, prosecutors and judges (who used to be prosecutors), without benefit of an attorney looking to see if these people did their jobs correctly, should be charged with child abuse.

Since when is exercising one's Constitutional Right to an attorney "sleaze"? It is not un-American to seek advice when in an unfamiliar situation. Just what kind of country do you people wish to live in? Daily, I read about bumbling METRO employees, ignorant city employees, incompetent state and federal employees....but give a gun and a badge to that employee, and you people think they can do no wrong. It may surprise you people, but every police officer, prosecutor and judge I know thinks that defense attorneys are critical to a well functioning judicial system. Only fans of the Taliban think otherwise.

So......which one are you?

[musicman]

If you had even the SLIGHTEST idea how inaccurate those machines are, or how badly many police officers misjudge these cases, you would never make ridiculous statements like that. I won't bore you people with some of the comical police work I have seen in 19 years (including my years as an assistant district attorney), but I dare say that the parent who allows his child to be judged by a system that consists only of police, prosecutors and judges (who used to be prosecutors), without benefit of an attorney looking to see if these people did their jobs correctly, should be charged with child abuse.

Since when is exercising one's Constitutional Right to an attorney "sleaze"? It is not un-American to seek advice when in an unfamiliar situation. Just what kind of country do you people wish to live in? Daily, I read about bumbling METRO employees, ignorant city employees, incompetent state and federal employees....but give a gun and a badge to that employee, and you people think they can do no wrong. It may surprise you people, but every police officer, prosecutor and judge I know thinks that defense attorneys are critical to a well functioning judicial system. Only fans of the Taliban think otherwise.

So......which one are you?

I do understand why they hired Rusty Hardin. She was weaving while driving, didn't have her lights on, her car reeked of alcohol, she failed the field sobriety test and refused the breathalyzer. Not bad for a 17 yr old who's not supposed to be drinking.......The mayor's concern was that "she broke house rules."

He knows he can't say anything in the media cause it could implicate his daughter who's not a party animal.

[TJones]

Golly Moses Red, I was gonna say the same thing, not so eloquently as you. DUI cases garner buying the best lawyer your money can buy. Especially one who has been around for awhile and knows how the system works and how it is flawed. I am gonna start keeping Red on speed-dial, though I would hope that I never get arrested for DUI.

[ricco67]

Golly Moses Red, I was gonna say the same thing, not so eloquently as you. DUI cases garner buying the best lawyer your money can buy. Especially one who has been around for awhile and knows how the system works and how it is flawed. I am gonna start keeping Red on speed-dial, though I would hope that I never get arrested for DUI.

For the record, I totally agree with Red. Even if she was pouring booze out of every pore, confessed to the cop while casually drinking an open container in the car and PEEING in front of the officer, she is entitled to a lawyer. It's up to the jury to decide whether or not she's guilty.

Red, as usual is far too eloquent for us.

[Guest danax]

If you had even the SLIGHTEST idea how inaccurate those machines are, or how badly many police officers misjudge these cases, you would never make ridiculous statements like that. I won't bore you people with some of the comical police work I have seen in 19 years (including my years as an assistant district attorney), but I dare say that the parent who allows his child to be judged by a system that consists only of police, prosecutors and judges (who used to be prosecutors), without benefit of an attorney looking to see if these people did their jobs correctly, should be charged with child abuse.

Since when is exercising one's Constitutional Right to an attorney "sleaze"? It is not un-American to seek advice when in an unfamiliar situation. Just what kind of country do you people wish to live in? Daily, I read about bumbling METRO employees, ignorant city employees, incompetent state and federal employees....but give a gun and a badge to that employee, and you people think they can do no wrong. It may surprise you people, but every police officer, prosecutor and judge I know thinks that defense attorneys are critical to a well functioning judicial system. Only fans of the Taliban think otherwise.

So......which one are you?

OK, good point. I hadn't considered the inaccuracies :closedeyes: .

What I call sleaze is not when someone elects to hire an attorney but when someone doesn't cop to their breaking of the law and hopes the attorney can lie for them. Was she .08 or not? Guess with the inaccuracies it's impossible to know so maybe no lying will be needed.

I think our system works as well as any other that I know of. However it would be rare and inspiring to me to see someone be a stand-up person for a change. She may or may not know whether she was legally drunk or not. Kind of hard to technically "know" if she was having maybe a drink an hour. But if she really knows she was and her attorney knows she was because she told him, which is unlikely, and she gets off, then both she and her attorney have abused the system.

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

Well, I considered running screaming into the night, but since Homeland Security didn't raise the terror alert level, I thought that would be a bit of an overreaction.

I love it

[TJones]

Red, as usual is far too eloquent for us.

It's all that high-falootin' edumacation he done got over there at the HCC !

I wouldn't be surprised if Red is a prodigy of Racehorse Haynes. How 'bout it Red, who'd you clerk for ?

Edited August 3, 2006 by TJones

[Parrothead]

I agree with musicman, I think he made some good points....but yes, everyone is entitled to an attorney.

[RedScare]

OK, good point. I hadn't considered the inaccuracies :closedeyes: .

What I call sleaze is not when someone elects to hire an attorney but when someone doesn't cop to their breaking of the law and hopes the attorney can lie for them. Was she .08 or not? Guess with the inaccuracies it's impossible to know so maybe no lying will be needed.

I think our system works as well as any other that I know of. However it would be rare and inspiring to me to see someone be a stand-up person for a change. She may or may not know whether she was legally drunk or not. Kind of hard to technically "know" if she was having maybe a drink an hour. But if she really knows she was and her attorney knows she was because she told him, which is unlikely, and she gets off, then both she and her attorney have abused the system.

There are "stand up guys" in the system every day. You just don't hear much about them, since a person pleading guilty for a fair punishment is not news. In most cases, the lawyer is not trying to get the client "off", though we are looking for mistakes, but rather negotiating for a fair punishment. It is probably not surprising to hear that some prosecutors think the punishment should exceed the severity of the crime. The lawyers negotiate the punishment in much the same way that an agent negotiates an athlete's salary.

In those 3 or 4 percent of cases that cannot be negotiated, a trial is held. Sometimes a case goes to trial because the client is innocent, others because they may lose their job, some because the DA is being unreasonable during plea negotiations. In those cases, all bets are off. The jury decides the verdict. If the DA loses, it is perhaps because he got out-lawyered, but more likely that he had insufficient evidence, or that the client was innocent.

In my tirade last night, I forgot to mention an important fact. Harris County judges REQUIRE all defendants to appear in court with a lawyer. Mayor White could not send his daughter into court unrepresented. You may find it sleazy that he hired Rusty Hardin, because Rusty seldom loses, but that is more of a compliment to Rusty than a slap at Mayor White. I suspect that if the officer did everything correctly, you'll see a plea. If the officer bumbled things (and, deputy constables are not as well trained as HPD or DPS), it may end up in trial. The key to DWI cases is usually the video. If the person looks sober, they walk. If they look drunk, they are convicted. That is likely to be the case here, as well.

I apologize to danax for jumping him a bit hard last night. I was a little annoyed at some of the other posts that suggested that the daughter of a public official is somehow not entitled to the same protections under the law as the rest of us. I am also tired of the shifting of blame when a defendant "walks". As a DA, I did not lose many cases, but I NEVER blamed a defense attorney for a loss. In this age of "accountability", the blame for a Not Guilty verdict should go where it belongs.

EDIT: Oh, and TJ, I was a bartender in law school. And, while she may not be guilty of DWI, any alcohol at all could make her guilty of DUI, a separate lesser offense for those under 21.

Edited August 3, 2006 by RedScare

[tcole]

If you had even the SLIGHTEST idea how inaccurate those machines are, or how badly many police officers misjudge these cases, you would never make ridiculous statements like that. I won't bore you people with some of the comical police work I have seen in 19 years (including my years as an assistant district attorney), but I dare say that the parent who allows his child to be judged by a system that consists only of police, prosecutors and judges (who used to be prosecutors), without benefit of an attorney looking to see if these people did their jobs correctly, should be charged with child abuse.

Since when is exercising one's Constitutional Right to an attorney "sleaze"? It is not un-American to seek advice when in an unfamiliar situation. Just what kind of country do you people wish to live in? Daily, I read about bumbling METRO employees, ignorant city employees, incompetent state and federal employees....but give a gun and a badge to that employee, and you people think they can do no wrong. It may surprise you people, but every police officer, prosecutor and judge I know thinks that defense attorneys are critical to a well functioning judicial system. Only fans of the Taliban think otherwise.

So......which one are you?

I concur. I have heard some pretty incredible stories from my best friend who is an assistant DA in Tarrant County (Fort Worth) regarding specifically DWI cases. He has told me that he has warned officers numerous times that he would not hesitate to slap a perjury charge on them if they misrepresented the facts in either court or a deposition. And he shares your skepticism on the acuracy of breatalizers.

Edited August 3, 2006 by tcole

[KinkaidAlum]

Parrot, it hasn't been proven that she was drunk driving. I have been pulled over, accused of drunk driving, when I knew full well I wasn't . I have been cuffed and stuffed into a DPS mustang, and had to take the breathalizer at the station, total inconvience. The officer pulled me over for a headlight, and had me go through the whole field sobriety, when it came to the standing on one leg bit I told him there was no way becasue of my Psyotic nerve was pinched at the time. That's why he thought I was drunk, so, I passed the breathalizer, and was driven back to my truck and released with a warning for the light. She got taken down because she wouldn't do the breathalizer. I think she did the right thing.

If I was the officer, I would have known you were sober cuz a drunk fool can't say psyotic nerve without calling it A) a psychotic nerve or doing so while giggling.

As for not having to do with sprawling (Niche), I disagree. I went to undergrad with kids from Manhattan, Boston, Center City Philly, and Chicago and all of them couldn't believe that I admitted to driving in high school while smashed. See, they could just walk around. You can't do that in a city like Houston (for the most part) or in some rural area...

Personally, I don't think she was drunk because she didn't

1) Accuse the cop of being an Israeli neo-con

2) Tell the cop he/she had nice sugar-bOObs.

3) Accuse Jews of forcing her to drink the Devil's Juice.