Author: admin (325 Articles)
In the Phoenix area during Superbowl weekend 2008 there was a heavy DUI patrol. One product of the heavy patrol was one of the player’s arrests. It is interesting that he is now suspended for four days, when the usual penalty of a violation of the NFL’s alcohol policy is a fine for a first offense.
This story brings up a set of issues we deal with in nearly every Arizona DUI case. Beyond the penalties, the record, the license suspension, there are other potential collateral consequences of an Arizona drunk driving conviction. The biggest for most people is the potential loss of employment or loss of career mobility.
For some clients, a DUI will have devastating consequences. Take the hypothetical trucker who has a commercial drivers license (CDL). He is stopped in Tucson for a DUI and charged in Tucson Municipal Court with driving while impaired to the slightest degree. His alcohol level is a .07 (under the legal limit), but the State thinks he is impaired. He was not driving a commercial vehicle at the time of his arrest, and was in a rental sedan.
In this case, if he gets the Tucson DUI conviction, he will face the reality that he will not be able to drive for a living for at least a year. That is because any DUI conviction mandates the loss of the CDL for a year for a first offense. So now, the commerical driver charged with a questionable DUI may lose his job and who knows what else.
Prosecutors often approach DUI cases with the mindset of the penalty that the judge doles out is what the defendant gets. This is rarely the whole story. Like any serious criminal charge, DUI cases impact many areas of a defendant’s life. For Mr. Awason, four games in the scope of an NFL career doesn’t seem like much, but having one of the most storied Superbowls of all time tarnished for him with this, that’s a once in a million, once in a lifetime setback.
Quoted from http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/giants/2008/06/awasom-suspended-four-games.html:
The Blue Screen – NY Daily News
Awasom suspended four games
Former Giants defensive end Adrian Awasom, who made unwanted headlines during Super Bowl week when he was arrested in Arizona on suspicion of drunken driving, was suspended by the NFL for the first four games of the 2008 season.
Awasom, who was a restricted free agent and not offered a contract by the Giants this offseason, is still a free agent. He is eligible to sign a contract, however, and will be allowed to participate in all offseason and preseason activities.
Though no official reason for the suspension was announced, it was likely for a violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. According to that policy, the NFL commissioner can fine or suspend a player for violation of an alcohol or drug-related law. A first offense, however, is generally a fine.
