No word on whether the trial looked something like this:Prosecutors dismiss felony plea after judge rejects agreement
LAPORTE | A LaPorte man walked out of court Wednesday a free man despite a long record of driver's license suspensions and drunk driving.
Robert Walden, 60, appeared in LaPorte Circuit Court after submitting a guilty plea as a habitual traffic violator, a Class D felony.
Feeling harsher punishment was in order, Judge Tom Alevizos rejected the plea saying thee other counts pending against Walden would have been dismissed. In each county Alevizos said Walden posted bond, then again got arrested. Two of those arrests while out on bond were charges including operating while intoxicated and possession of marijuana, according to court documents.
After Alevizos rejected the plea, LaPorte County Deputy Prosecutor David Bishop dismissed all of the charges.
"So, that's the message the state of Indiana wants to send to the people of LaPorte County. So, HTV means nothing. Having 20 drunk driving arrests means nothing," Alevizos said.
Bishop said he felt the court should have been satisfied with a three-year sentence for Walden whose convictions involving operating while intoxicated date back to at least 1980.
So, in short, the Assistant Prosecutor, David David Bishop (who usually handles Traffic, Misdemeanors, and Class D Felonies) presented a plea bargain which would get Mr. Walden out of several pending charges (operating while intoxicated and possession of marijuana) -- both of which are higher than Class D Felonies, I'm pretty sure. Judge Alevizos, smart cookie that he is, said "No Way". Prosecutor Bishop, being the whiny pissant he is, then dismissed the pending charges of "Habitual Traffic Offender. Had the plea been accepted, it's almost certain he would have been convicted of the DWI charge (at least).
Mr. Walden still faces the DWI and possession charges in other counties, though; those are still to be determined.
Un-freaking-believable.
I have to give props to Judge Alevizos for holding the line and not letting this drunk driver slide again. But Asst. Prosecutor Bishop? Of all the childish, unprofessional, b.s. moves -- this is an attorney desperately in need of a new job.
Let's be clear here -- because i don't think there's any arguing about it. This is an attorney who approves -- and, in fact, enables -- drunk drivers. In fact, he's an attorney desperately in need of a disbarment -- let alone a career change.
The phone numbers to the prosecutor's department are 219-873-7014 or 219-326-6808. His boss' name is Robert J. Beckman, Prosecuting Attorney for LaPorte County. Feel free to tell them "the famous Alamo City Pundit" sent you.
~~JD~~
(Heh. "The famous." Heh-heh.)
Cross-Posted at Alamo City Pundit
