South Carolina Criminal Defense Blog

A federal prosecutor in Rhode Island, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard Sullivan, refused a breath test but was not charged with DUI after allegedly using his position to influence the officers involved:

McCartney said Sullivan was stopped early Thanksgiving morning for driving erratically and smelled of alcohol. He said Sullivan told the officer he had just left a tavern and had been drinking. When asked how much, he replied "too much."

Sullivan then failed a series of field sobriety tests and was taken into custody. He later refused to take a chemical breath test, McCartney said.

According to officers who dealt with him, Sullivan said several times that he is a prosecutor and knows the chief. Sullivan, the former head of the criminal division in the U.S. attorney's office in Rhode Island, has been deeply involved in prosecuting Statehouse corruption.

McCartney said there is a department policy to charge people who refuse a breath test with DUI "if the circumstances are corroborated," but Sullivan was only charged with refusing the breath test. McCartney said the decision is under two separate police reviews, oneby the professional standards unit and one by a so-called prosecution officer, who is working with the city solicitor's office.

I'm all for police/ prosecutorial discretion in not charging people with driving under the influence unless they are sure - but here we have a public official who reportedly admitted he had been drinking "too much," and reportedly used his position as a prosecutor to avoid the criminal charge. It could happen to anyone, yes. But consider the irony of one getting special treatment because he is in a position of someone who enforces the law.