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Senate Majority Leader Arrested for DUI Posted by Danny, on April 4th, 2009, at 8:38 pmThe story is not a good one for state Senate Majority Leader Zeb Little (D – Cullman).
Keeping the title of Senate Majority Leader may be the least of his worries. 40 comments to Senate Majority Leader Arrested for DUI |
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the hit and run is the interesting part, from what i understand, that is a felony. which would mean that he woudld give up his seat right?
Leaving the Scene of an Accident is a felony if someone was injured in the wreck, a misdemeanor if no one was injured. If the story I read is correct, apparently the other driver left as well, which is probably why he was not charged with that.
I wonder if he was actually charged with Attempting to Elude (the normal charge when the Police try to stop you and you fail to stop) as opposed to failure to Yield which is what is charged when a vehicle fails to get out of the way of a patrol car en route to another call.
On the news just now it said, “suspicion of DUI” because he refused the alcohol test. The officer on the scene said he smelled alcohol, wonder if that’s admissible. The hit and run is not listed as part of his charges, looks like. Just the failure to pull over for the officer.
Looks like Riley will be setting up another special election for a departing Democratic state senator.
Goodbye Zeb!
Sincerely,
Cullman County Dem
From just a quick read of the article, the Trooper had probably cause to pull him over b/c he was involved in an accident. A refusal to blow is an automatic suspension of your license for 90 days on the first DUI. The smell of alcohol is admissible to the extent the Trooper can use it to articulate why he had concerns that alcohol may have been a factor in the accident and require him to perform some field sobriety tests.
Since he didnt blow it will make it a little harder to prove the DUI but a conviction for misdemeanor DUI is pretty easy to get since it will a Judge that hears the case and not a jury, unless he has a trial, looses and then appeals to Circuit Court for jury trial.
Maximum jail time on misdemeanor DUI is 1yr but most courts hand out suspended sentences for first DUI’s and make the defendant complete a drug/alcohol class.
I dont really know him and he is on the other side of the aisle but always hate to see folks make bad choices that affect innocent folks around them. I hope he will make a wise decision now, accept the conciquences and learn from his poor choice.
Stand up – dui conviction is 90 day suspended, plus failure to blow is 90 days, together that’s 180 dàys, guess bedford and keahey might have to give up their drivers
stand up- but he didn’t have a license to suspend.
If the state finds the other driver before Zeb can pay him off, does that not add leaving the scene to the charges?
What we have heah is a total lack of respect for de law . . .
Innocent until proven guilty. If you were not at the scene, you don’t know what happened.
I feel badly for him. He obviously made a mistake, and the facts have not yet really been established. Why did a random motorist flag down a cop and point out Sen. Little’s car if the other SUV had left earlier and was clearly further down the road? If there was an open container (which can be considered open even if it is a 6 pack with one beer missing in the back seat), you are assumed to be under the influence. Failure to yield can occur if you are in the middle lane and assume the cop is going to get into the fast lane. I mean, we really don’t know the facts but people have been quick to judge. The Senator Little I know is hard working and sincere. Let’s presume innocence people, our constitution was built on it.
Zeb is an attorney – he will do some major squirming to get out of this one. Yes, he made a mistake, but it is one he also must pay for. So long Zeb…
Another one bites the dust.
Should make for an interesting floor speech this Tuesday.
For those who assume he’s toast, remember forgiveness is quite common when a legislator has been “good” to his district.
Here’s hoping that Senator Little either did not do all of the things alleged, or that he finds a way to make amends with his family and his district. He is a very good young legislator that has served the state well.
Zeb’s already confessed, just refused the test per the paper.
Don’t worry about the family, they are used to Zeb’s antics. Ask his former law partners why he was let go.
Drunk at 5 pm.
Don’t come home a drinkin’ with gamblin’ on your mind . . .
On the news last night, Zeb has already sent out an apology and is “accepting full responsibility for his behavior” so Zeb knows he is in it deep here.
The capacity to forgive is also high considering he has issued an apology quickly.
In the bham news today,his pr folks also noted that he does not dispute any of the allegations made by the troopers, which include all of those noted above, with the exception of the hit and run. That was not confirmed due to the other car driving off. So at least he’s not trying to spin it or deny any of the charges
Zeb was already going to face some oposition in 2010. Dr. Paul Bussman announced his intention to run a while back. Bussman is a dentist and a preatty popular guy here in Cullman. Both Zeb and Paul are popular within the “Cullman Elite”, im betting this whole incident will firmly put that group of citizens and their influence on Bussman’s side.
I always knew Zeb Little was “my kind of guy.” he backs the Sweet Home Alabama Plan and he likes the hard stuff too!
#6 It is “probable cause” not “probably” and if the misdemeanor has a jail sentence of more than 6 months, then jury trial, not trial by Judge only…
Regardless, this is an awful situation to be in and he and his family will be having a rough time of it.
It does seem kind of a bizarre setup. A random motorist flagging down the police over an apparent fender bender in which both cars left the scene? There is more to that part of the story. Probably nothing suspicious but just weird.
How was a random motorist able to flag down a police in car and explain to them the situation in a short enough time span that Little’s car was still visible on the Interstate when they were finished? And the updated version of the Birmingham News story says that the driver of the other vehicle, a black SUV, pulled over but left before officers could make contact? What does that even mean? If an officer pulled them over and they drove off, it would seem the article would say so (and that police would be looking for this person). If this person was allowed to pull over and leave whenever they pleased without ever even speaking to the police, that would raise a whole nother set of issues. Bizarre.
Obviously, Little appears to have been drinking and driving which is a crime. But the first part of this story does not make any sense.
Thank goodness no one was hurt. Driving drunk, with an open container (!), expired license (seriously – expired license?), causing an accident, leaving the scene of the accident, ignoring the officer’s initial attempts to pull him over, all at 5:00 p.m. on a Friday on one of the busiest parts of the Birmingham interstate. Mercy.
#20 Thanks for making the correction regarding “probable cause” & “probably” in my previous post.
It is however a non-jury trial i.e. Judge only in misdemeanor cases. Defendant has the right to appeal any misdemeanor conviction (w/in 14 days of the conviction) the the Circuit court in the county the charges were brought in.
Yeah, it was a setup. Just like OJ.
Dylan – Keahey has a driver?
These have to be the most bazaar facts I’ve ever heard. What makes it astonishing is, the fact he’s the state majority leader, AND AN ATTORNEY LOL.
#25 I believe Keahey’s driver is compensated by his campaign. This is rather common when running a campaign. He is not a legislative employee.
oh yeah, Sir Keahy has a driver. I hear he’s paying him to the tune of $300/day. And 27, sure, it is common on statewide races. Seeing the AEA fund keahy so heavily, one could argue that his driver IS a legislative employee
Bham News reported multiple tickets (mainly speeding) given to Mr. Little over several years from cullman to baldwin county and all DROPPED. amazing how he has been able to wiggle his way out of all his tickets over the years. I guess he screwed up so much this time that it is not possible to have it all dropped….but stay tuned.
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/metro.ssf?/base/news/123900571721270.xml&coll=2
wonder if Zeb knew the person in the “black SUV”
wonder if Zeb’s wife knows this person
wonder if she’ll check the cell phone records
Word is that Zeb has hired a new PR guy to handle this affair. Some guy named Foster Brooks. They say he’s big in Hollywood . . . .
Excuse my ignorance. Who is Keahy?
Yikes Cloverdale. Watch the conspiracy theories. Although, it has been alluded before that Zeb has some personal troubles, and your idea does answer some head-scratching questions.
Gee, if he was texting while driving, can they add that to the list of offenses?
That Zeb Little. I’ve always heard he was “Kennedy-esque.”
Marc Keahey is the current Democrat House member from District 65. He is currently running in theSpecial Senate 22 election.
The reference to a driver is that he is driven to and from the legislative sessions by a paid driver. This began well before the Senate seat was open, which begs the question, why doesn’t he drive? Did he have a “Expired” License problem as Zeb?
Keahey does like to party while in town for session. The reason for a driver could well be a drivers license problem … wouldn’t surprise me.