Mel Gibson's DUI arrest – much ado about nothing?
The Mel Gibson DUI case is long over, perhaps not all forgotten. But the media will continue to feed hungrily on every celebrity who gets slapped with a DUI charge. The list is long – Paris Hilton, Ray Liotta, Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan. However, sensational as these stories are because of who is involved in them, when you look at it as a DUI case, it is quite routine.
If you or I had been arrested on the same DUI charge (and there are thousands arrested for drunk driving every day in this country), we wouldn’t hear about it in our newspapers’ police or court blotters let alone through the mainstream media outlets.
Consider the Mel Gibson DUI case. This was a pretty standard DUI case. California Drunk Driving attorneys deal with these types of driving under the influence cases on a daily basis. The actor’s blood alcohol level at .12, was clearly over the legal limit of .08. But in a DUI case that’s not uncommon. Gibson had no accident no prior DUI conviction other than a 20-year-old Toronto DUI that had been dismissed. The California Vehicle Code states that a person faces jail time only if convicted of DUI twice within 10 years. No problem there for the actor.
Any California DUI attorney knows that the worst possible scenario for Mel Gibson was a fine, three months of DUI education, license suspension, probation and possibly, community service. What attracted more attention than his DUI was the sexist, anti-Semitic words that came out of his mouth. Although those words were hateful and reprehensible, we must remember, they had nothing to do with the DUI charge.
Interest in this California DUI case also centered on the special treatment Mel Gibson received. For example, after booking the actor and releasing him on his own recognizance, the sheriffs gave him a ride to the impound yard to recover his vehicle. The DUI clients we defend on a daily basis certainly don’t get that treatment. Newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times as well as entertainment Web site TMZ that broke the story, point out that the arresting officer’s initial report was later cleaned up and that the arresting deputy was ordered to rewrite the report with additional outrageous comments. This is highly inappropriate on the part of the sheriffs or any law enforcement agency for that matter and makes you wonder about the accuracy of police reports.
Another disturbing part of the DUI case is that although Mel Gibson was traveling at a speed of over 80 mph in a 45 mph zone, the district attorney left out this charge, which if admitted or proven true automatically carries a 60-day jail sentence. It all ended in August 2006 when Mel Gibson pleaded no contest to one count of DUI driving with blood alcohol content above .08%. The other charges were dropped, and the judge sentenced Mel Gibson to three years probation, a 90-day alcohol-abuse program, 12 months of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and fined him $1,300 with a 90-day license restriction. Mel Gibson volunteered to do public-service announcements on hazards of drinking and driving, and to enter rehab and apologized several times for his hateful remarks during the incident.
Clearly, Mel Gibson was happy to put an end to the media frenzy about his DUI arrest with his no contest plea and chose not to defend his DUI. As we’ve observed, this is more often a norm rather than an exception with celebrity DUIs.
