Man Pulled Over For DUI With Drunk T-Shirt

Hundreds of people are pulled over every year for suspicion of driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. However, most people pulled over do not make admissions about their state of intoxication without speaking. Typically police have to question the driver and put them through a series of tests before they can determine if the driver is under the influence. A recent arrest of a Long Island man was not the norm. His t-shirt had the words "I’m Drunk" written in large bold letters on his chest. Mr. Kevin Daily is the proud owner of this t-shirt. Mr. Daily was arrested for driving under the influence and taken to jail wearing his shirt.

The shirt also said "I’m not an alcoholic… Alcoholics go to meetings." In the state of California, if you are arrested for a DUI and you plead to the charges or are found guilty, you are required to do at least 12 hours of meetings (Wet Reckless) but most standard first offenders are required to complete 30 hours of meetings. Mr. Daily will be testing the theory on his shirt as he prepares to defend himself in court.

Mr. Daily’s shirt was not the only indicator that he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In fact, the police report for Mr. Daily states that Mr. Daily crashed his 2000 Saturn sedan into a parked police interceptor around 1:50 a.m. on a Thursday morning. When a defendant crashes his vehicle into the back of a police cruiser, this evidence is used as very persuasive circumstantial evidence of your intoxication. The police interceptor was parked on the right hand side of the freeway. The officer stated that he positioned his vehicle there to watch for drunk drivers. However, in this situation the officer didn’t even have to chase the suspect, the drunk driver came to him.

The police department was not happy about the damaged police cruiser. However, this officer was not seriously injured but he was taken to the hospital to treat minor injuries and to make sure that he does not suffer any permanent damage.

At the arraignment, Mr. Daily was charged with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and was also told that he has several warrants for outstanding traffic tickets. If Mr. Daily were a client of Mr. Mortland, he would be advised to wear more appropriate attire at his hearings, not a shirt admitting that he is drunk.

The standard disposition for a San Jose DUI would be a hefty fine (around $2,000), 2 days minimum jail sentence (which can be done on alternative sentencing), alcohol classes, and a license suspension for 6 months. The penalty can get more severe if you were speeding, if you had a minor child in the vehicle, if you were involved in a collision, if you were driving on a suspended license, if your blood alcohol level was particularly high (above a .15 or .20), or if you have a prior history of dui convictions.

Fresno DUI lawyer Bob Mortland is a solo practitioner attorney in the Fresno-Visalia Area.