Prosecutors drop drunk driving charges against conspiracy fabulist Alex Jones

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Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/10/01/prosecutors-drop-drunk-driving-charges-against-conspiracy-fabulist-alex-jones.html

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giphy(1)

Travis county is pretty hard-nosed when it comes to drunk driving. Alex Jones getting off after failing 3 tests just plain sucks.

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Honestly this is fine based on the provided information. I mean, not alex jones or drunk driving which are both terrible. He didn’t exceed the legal limit, and proving impairment without that should be hard. 5 over the speed limit and failing field sobriety tests (which are largely subjective and frequently garbage). If he were doing other reckless / dangerous things when pulled over (which seems likely: you don’t usually get pulled over for 5 over) then that would be another story but that wasn’t actually described. At 0.079 he just got stupidly lucky, and it sucks because he absolutely deserves it, but this is what is supposed to happen.

I’d rather focus on how bullshit charges against others are held up even without BAC measurements over the legal limit.

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I misread the headline as Fabulous Alex Jones.

And then had a moment of mirth at the image that conjured.

Rule #32 - Enjoy the little things…

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Jones is so unhinged, I bet he would fail the sobriety tests even if he wasn’t intoxicated.

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I guess the laws are more flexible if you have money and influence.

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But he’s a rich white man, so he gets all the chances.

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I hope that blood test looked at more than just alcohol.

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In California we have “wet and reckless” for these situations. I’m not sure if there is something similar in TX.

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If this was someone else and he failed 3 field tests but passed the breathalyzer, the cops would presume he was on drugs in addition to the alcohol and book him for driving impaired. The main test is how someone is driving, and he was apparently driving erratically enough to pull him over

ETA: just got around to actually reading the article. He was stopped because his wife called the cops because of a fight between them and said he was probably drinking

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He would’ve turned the charges into some witch hunt thing and it would’ve been a circus a lot of us in Travis County would just rather not deal with. And then he’d get an expensive lawyer and get it dismissed or get acquitted, more than likely.

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Imagine a Liberace ensemble made entirely of aluminum foil.

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With a tinfoil hat, obviously.

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Yeah as written I had to think there’s more to the story that wasn’t reported. Getting pulled over for 5 over is bullshit. Just because Alex Jones is a loathsome individual he doesn’t deserve to be harassed by the cops, nobody does.

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balogna

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Getting a ticket for 5 over is the ticket you get if you’re actually pulled over for going 10-20 over on the freeway, but have an excuse the officer can empathize with.

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Now ge can get one of those medals for freedoms

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Or else it’s what the prosecutor plea bargained.

I’ve had at least one moving violation downgraded to a parking violation. (With a higher fine than the ticket would have been, but no points on the license and hence no extra money shelled out to the insurance company for a few years.)

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In my neck of the woods, a prosecutor wouldn’t be involved unless your ticket was felony reckless driving, and, really, you wouldn’t just get handed a ticket, you would be arrested.

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Garden variety white privilege or political influence?

Either way it’s a pity, would have been nice to see him sent to the pokey.

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