AP News, June 13th, 2007
Former Mayor Marion Barry was acquitted Wednesday of drunken driving and other offenses stemming from his arrest last year near the White House.
Barry, now a District of Columbia Council member, had been charged with driving under the influence, operating a vehicle while impaired, driving an unregistered vehicle and misuse of temporary tags.
Secret Service agents stopped Barry's car early Sept. 10, 2006, and said he stopped at a green light and drove through a red one. The agents testified that Barry smelled of alcohol, was stumbling and had red eyes and slurred speech.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Richard Ringell ruled that he could not find beyond a reasonable doubt that Barry was intoxicated. He noted that a breath test later in the evening registered a blood-alcohol content of .02 percent, well below the legal limit of .08 percent.
Barry signed autographs and shook hands with supporters as he left the courthouse.
"First of all, let me thank God for this decision," Barry said. "I wasn't doing anything illegal, anything improper, anything wrong."
The 71-year-old council member, who served six months in prison after he was videotaped smoking crack in a 1990 FBI sting during his third term as mayor, testified in his own defense Wednesday.
"I had only one glass of wine, and there weren't chemicals in my body," he told the judge. He said he was taking at least five medications for his diabetes, high blood pressure and knee problems. "I don't think I was impaired or under the influence."
His attorney, Frederick Cooke, said Barry's stumbling and failure of a field sobriety test before his arrest were the result of his age and medications he was taking.
Barry said he tries not to drink at all during his recovery from substance abuse. But he said was having a celebratory drink that night with an Oklahoma state senator after learning he would receive an award from the Congressional Black Caucus.
Barry refused a urine test after passing the breath test, and prosecutors argued his refusal implied a consciousness of guilt. Officers suspected Barry was impaired with another drug, in addition to alcohol, prosecutor Kara Preissel said.
Ringell said that all the officers' actions were proper, but that their finding of his impairment met a standard different from what he must use in a court of law.
In a separate case, Barry remains charged with driving an unregistered vehicle in December 2006. Ringell set an Aug. 22 trial date on that count.
