Texas
Related: About this forumLetter from Travis DA Lehmberg to prosecutors says she will enter guilty plea, accept jail time
In a letter Sunday night to prosecutors handling her case, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg said she is prepared to make an unconditional guilty plea and will accept any amount of jail time a judge gives her after a weekend drunken driving charge.
According to the one-page letter obtained by the American-Statesman, Lehmberg wrote, I enter this plea without request for delay, without legal argument by counsel, without any plea bargain and without any request for leniency or consideration of any type.
She also said she would waive her right to appeal her punishment, whatever it may be, and that she would plead guilty to whatever level of offense is determined to be justified by the facts.
Under state law, first-offense drunken driving is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by as much as six months in jail and a $2,000 fine. During the last session of the legislature, state lawmakers passed a new law that says if a suspects breath or blood test shows they had a blood alcohol level of 0.15 or above, prosecutors can enhance the charge to a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a sentence of up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
More details at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/letter-from-district-attorney-to-prosecutors-says-/nXMCY/
[font color=green]The story also states that Lehmberg did have her blood drawn by jail staff.
Although she indicated that she would not resign, I believe that she will have some difficulty prosecuting cases if she is an inmate in jail.[/font]
sonias
(18,063 posts)AAS 4/16/13
Lehmbergs biggest problem could be obscure state law
While Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg sought to put her weekend drunken driving arrest behind her, debate over her political future reached the State Capitol on Monday, where lawmakers weighed in on whether she should resign and how a replacement might be chosen.
Some officials pointed to an obscure provision in state law that allows a district attorney to be removed from office for being drunk. The provision also says that a single county resident could start such a removal.
If Lehmberg, a Democrat, were to resign or be removed from office, Republican Gov. Rick Perry would appoint a replacement who would be subject to confirmation by the GOP-controlled state Senate.
Chapter 87 of the states Local Government Code lists among the general grounds for removal of a district attorney and other county officials intoxication on or off duty caused by drinking an alcoholic beverage.
This whole thing makes me sick. I can understand a temporary replacement but I think we should have a special election just like we do for other elected officials.
TexasTowelie
(111,312 posts)Lehmberg was one of the few checks that Democrats had over the Republican mafia running roughshod over the citizens of Texas. Having another Republican crony to replace her until 2016 is unfortunate for Travis County and the state since the Travis County DA is responsible for prosecuting any state officials who violate the law.
This specific law is something that Democrats need to put on their list to amend or repeal in order to maintain a proper set of checks and balances.