Guest Rant #1

(I've asked people to contribute guest rants, and this one will be posted anonymously by request)

I was arrested for drunk driving in November. Yes, I was wasted and had
no right to be behind the wheel of a car. Never forgive me, fellow driver, for putting your life in jeopardy. But forgive my reasons, maybe, for being so drunk. How would you fare 257
wintry miles away from everyone you love and care about?
I've lost count of the times in Detroit I was pulled over in the same
state but let go - and this includes incidents with two female state
troopers. Nevertheless, incapacitated beyond reasonable driving, the officers
always preferred to write a ticket than do the paperwork it takes to process a
drunk driver. For the record: Highland Park doesn't own a PBT machine. Neither does Detroit's precinct on Seven Mile. This doesn't lessen my offense. I was wrong each and every time. And if
you want to argue that point, ask Jeff, who was severely injured by a drunk
driver. Like so many of us, my number came up again and I blew on the road. But once
I'm at the jail I know the game - it's them against me. The cast of drunks trying to pass through this small town are the only way the deputies and each and every court employee is getting paid. I'm frightened. My
professional life is in jeopardy. I am unable to bail myself out of jail and thus, ask for help. When officer Smitty asked me to blow again in a tube I say: "Hell no. You're going to take me to a hospital where I know a third party will be counting." BIG MISTAKE. Smitty never explained the rules of applied consent. I didn't have a choice. You do not have a choice. Once you get behind the wheel of a car drunk, you
have no rights. And maybe, just maybe, this is rightfully so. But let's talk about the punishment.
I assumed I had rights. Smitty knew different. Today I sat in an office overlooking the bay and our lack of consensus didn't matter. He won. The arrest cost me $950, five weeks of blowing in a tube every morning,
a 30-day license suspension, five months of restriction to follow and permanent probation at work - they kept me for the mandatory DUI 30-day license suspension. Now, I lose my license for one year. And the whole experience has left me with this: 1) Do not drink and drive. 2) If you do, make damn sure you' re rich or famous because they'll have your ass ina sling that is just tight enough to ruin you life.
I'm a relatively intelligent person, but that didn't matter. The appeals "judge" laughed when I said I was going to represent myself because I couldn't afford the $500 retainer offered by the cast of attorney's I called. Could you,or anyone you know, afford $500? Could you or anyone you know keep their lves going without the ability to drive? I can appeal. But that costs $150 to file if I am to represent myself and $500 to retain an attorney. Should I throw more money I don't have at
an unbeatable system?

Anonymous