Atty's DWI Arrest Causes Mistrial; I Was Sober But Tired from Trial Prep, He Says
Exhausted from preparing for a murder trial, a Texas lawyer says, he had an accident en route to court on Tuesday and was charged with driving while intoxicated even though he was sober.
A mistrial resulted, and in a court hearing yesterday attorney Bryan Simmons was ordered to reimburse Bowie County for the $318 it paid potential jurors, reports the Associated Press, relying on information from the Texarkana Gazette.
An apologetic Simmons says he agrees with the monetary penalty and, with the benefit of hindsight, may have been too tired to be behind the wheel. He says an officer refused his request for an on-the-scene Breathalyzer test, and the results of a blood test won’t be known for several weeks.
He tells the news agency that the accident resulted from an allergic sneezing fit after he ate some catfish sprinkled with black pepper. He lost control of his car, which landed in a ditch with a flat tire.
