A woman fighting against a DUI charge, that two witnesses claim was not the driver, has been convicted of a lesser DUI charge by a judge after the jury had found her not guilty, as reported by The Morning Call from Lehigh Valley.
Salisbury Township resident, J.D.T., 25, had her driving privileges removed by a Northampton County judge one month before her trial. On February 7 jurors found her not guilty of second-offense DUI.
After the jury made their decision, J.D.T. was surprised when Judge Michael Koury Jr. failed to adhere to it. Allegedly Judge Koury said that he alone should make the conclusion – and not give any weight to the juror’s decision.
It was Judge Leonard Zito, who administers the criminal court docket that made the decision to take J.D.T.’s driver’s license from her on January 11.
J.D.T.’s trial was postponed for a month, as county prosecutors needed time to prepare, and her license was not restored during that time.
Jason Jenkins, the attorney defending J.D.T., criticized the removal of his client’s driving privileges before trial. He said that the move caused him, and other defense attorneys, to question if she was being punished not just for her alleged DUI, but also for exercising her right to a trial.
Allegedly prosecutors also found fault with the tactic. District Attorney John Morganelli allegedly said that his belief is that “someone is innocent until proven guilty.”
Jenkins expressed his frustration while J.D.T. cried as she left the courtroom – both dismayed to learn that she could now face five days to six months in prison and her driver’s license would be suspended for a year.
Jenkins said, “Why are we stretching so hard to find her guilty?” He also complained that the case was a “nightmare” and loosing the license at pretrial was “one of the ridiculous things” in the case.
Judge Koury bristled at Jenkins’ remarks and told the attorney, “I'd caution you to reread the rules of professional conduct.” Jenkins said in return, “Your honor, I apologize for my inappropriate candor.”
Jenkins’ response, still unacceptable to Judge Koury, prompted the judge to end the conversation by saying, “Your inappropriate candor? Your inappropriate remark.”
Zito only takes away a driver’s license if he feels the public is in danger while awaiting trial.
In this case, J.D.T.’s blood alcohol level, per Freemansburg police, was 0.18 percent.
J.D.T. was the person that exited the driver’s side door after allegedly double-parking the vehicle, and leaving on hazard lights, at Madison and Main streets. J.D.T. has maintained, as have two witnesses, that she was a rear passenger and had only gone into the front seat to retrieve some food.
Her two witnesses were two other passengers in the vehicle, A.P. and J.N. They attested that it was the owner of the vehicle, B.W., who was the designated driver.
Judge Koury found J.D.T. guilty of general-impairment DUI – a result that he said fell outside of the jury’s preview. He added that he found the witnesses not credible and, that a DUI conviction can be based on exercising control over a vehicle and not driving it.
Facing charges of DUI, DWI, OUI or OWI requires the assistance of an experienced DUI attorney. Contact a DUI attorney that is versed in the laws of your state right away!