Sen. John Kerry's Daughter Arrested for DUI Despite 0.06% BAC
Late Thursday night, early Friday morning, Alexandra Kerry (Sen. John Kerry’s 36-year old daughter) was arrested for DUI in Hollywood.
Kerry was reportedly pulled over because of expired registration tags. L.A.P.D. officers suspected her of driving under the influence and conducted a DUI investigation. After refusing an on-scene breathalyzer test (commonly known as a PAS test) and allegedly “failing” her FSTs, Kerry was arrested and booked into the Hollywood police station. Kerry then submitted to a DUI chemical blood test, the result of which revealed a BAC of 0.06%...0.02% lower than California’s illegal limit of 0.08%.
Although Kerry could technically face a charge for Vehicle Code 23152(a) which prohibits driving under the influence regardless of what her BAC was, it is more likely that the case will be dismissed or plea bargained down to a lesser charge.
The problem, however, is that she was still arrested…based primarily on her reported performance on the field sobriety tests. We can’t stress this enough…field sobriety tests aren’t accurate indicators of DUI impairment. Period.
There are so many innocent explanations that can account for poor FST performance…officer-induced intimidation, fatigue, uneven surface, poor footwear (such as high-heels). Any one of these factors can in-and-of themselves cause a sober person to “fail” these tests. If they work in conjunction with each other, it’s almost certain that the officer will criticize the performance…and falsely attribute it to drug and/or alcohol impairment.
An arrest like Kerry’s is a perfect example of why field sobriety tests aren’t accurate indicators of DUI impairment…and why we will always continue to challenge their validity.
