Former UT quarterback’s DUI charges dropped
Last week, former University of Tennessee quarterback and radio host Erik Ainge was dismissed. Ainge had been charged with a DUI, “violating the implied consent law and a roadway lane violation,” in July of 2013 by the Knoxville police. At the time of the arrest, a Knoxville police officer had noticed the pickup Ainge had been driving was swerving in traffic on I-40 early on a Sunday morning.
According to Knoxville police, he failed the field sobriety test the officer administered and refused to take a breath test. However, charges were dropped because the police officer who arrested him no longer works for the Knoxville police department, lives in Florida and was unable to testify.
What is instructive in this case is the prosecution in a DUI case can have problems and simply because you have been arrested, you should not abandon hope and immediately plead guilty.
While prosecutors will attempt to sway you to believe that, even cases where there appears to be an strong case against a suspect, police and prosecutors can and do commit errors and in some cases, outright fraud.
Stories occasionally come to light where police officers have doctored evidence and falsified police reports in bizarre attempts to obtain more arrests. Sometimes blood tests are contaminated, damaged or lost, which can make it difficult to determine months later if a driver really was legally intoxicated.
Moreover, police commit constitutional violations during traffic stops that can lead to charges being dropped and a case being dismissed.
Because of this, always consult a criminal defense attorney before you say anything to police.
Source: WATE.com, “DUI charges dismissed against former UT quarterback,” July 18, 2014