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pnwmom

(108,925 posts)
Wed Feb 24, 2021, 08:31 PM Feb 2021

Remember that initial breathalyzer that Springsteen refused to take?

It wasn't required and wasn't admissible, according to US Magistrate Mautone.

He also probably knew those portable tests are known to be inaccurate.

https://newjersey.news12.com/judge-drops-dui-charge-against-bruce-springsteen?fbclid=IwAR2S0vGh-roK4IYJuUVdIOs-K5JViQuLsCVYxgpjYvQQcEOye0BxBMCVuMo

According to a probable cause document written by park police at the time of the incident, Springsteen told a park officer he had done two shots in the previous 20 minutes but wouldn’t take a preliminary breath test before he was arrested. Mautone said Wednesday that the preliminary test is not required, and is not admissible in court.

When he took a breath test at the park’s ranger station, Springsteen's blood-alcohol came back .02, a quarter of the legal limit in New Jersey, prosecutors said Wednesday.


33 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Remember that initial breathalyzer that Springsteen refused to take? (Original Post) pnwmom Feb 2021 OP
Probably brucefan Feb 2021 #1
That's what I thought, when he claimed Bruce had glassy eyes -- whatever the heck pnwmom Feb 2021 #2
Cop boilerplate dpibel Feb 2021 #9
Well, that was prudent ... if he had just had 2 shots, the breathalyzer might well read much Hugh_Lebowski Feb 2021 #3
This has to had to have been a plea deal. no_hypocrisy Feb 2021 #4
I think he pled guilty to consuming alcohol in his car, which Hoyt Feb 2021 #5
You're correct. no_hypocrisy Feb 2021 #6
He was on his motorcycle questionseverything Feb 2021 #7
Thanks. Must have got it confused with his Jeep commercial. Thought he Hoyt Feb 2021 #8
There's a bar in Sandy Hook, so not entirely illegal to drink alcohol in the park Dorian Gray Feb 2021 #24
In the winter, the park is open 5 am to 8 pm. It's just closed for drinking. Klaralven Feb 2021 #26
He pled guilty to drinking in a park. Demsrule86 Feb 2021 #13
No - He pleaded guilty to drinking in a public park Jersey Devil Feb 2021 #20
But Bruce never should have BEEN charged with DWI (.10+ BAC) to begin with! Rocknation Feb 2021 #10
Are you implying that he did more than what he pled to? I don't believe it. pnwmom Feb 2021 #11
When you make a plea deal, it usually doesn't resemble the Truth. no_hypocrisy Feb 2021 #12
There is no plea deal. They would have lost a DUI trial. He wasn't drunk. Demsrule86 Feb 2021 #14
You start with DUI and after making a deal with the prosecutor and the cop and the judge, no_hypocrisy Feb 2021 #15
The fact that they started with a DUI doesn't mean he did anything to deserve that charge. pnwmom Feb 2021 #17
True. In all likelihood the proscutor moved for dismissal Jersey Devil Feb 2021 #21
There is no evidence that he made a plea "deal." He simply pled to the charge pnwmom Feb 2021 #16
You'd be surprised how truth and fiction get played with in a prosecutor's office. no_hypocrisy Feb 2021 #18
Sure, but that does not happen with DWI offenses Jersey Devil Feb 2021 #22
Thank you for illustrating the widespread corruption inherent in US justice Roisin Ni Fiachra Feb 2021 #23
I understand that. But it also doesn't prove that Bruce did anything more than pnwmom Feb 2021 #27
And that is the problems inherent in The System. no_hypocrisy Feb 2021 #28
I heard, Corgigal Feb 2021 #19
Even if we're just drinking in the park. speak easy Feb 2021 #29
Perfect... Corgigal Feb 2021 #30
I'm pissed Jeep pulled Bruce's unity ad. Did they ever restore it now that the truth is out? onetexan Feb 2021 #25
Jeep said that they're going to restore it Rocknation Feb 2021 #31
YAY!! Thank u for posting, good news. Love the ad & love Springsteen onetexan Feb 2021 #32
The man blew 0.02% blood alcohol. That tells me right there this was a jam job by a park ranger SuprstitionAintthWay Feb 2021 #33

pnwmom

(108,925 posts)
2. That's what I thought, when he claimed Bruce had glassy eyes -- whatever the heck
Wed Feb 24, 2021, 08:34 PM
Feb 2021

that means -- and smelled "heavily" of alcohol.

dpibel

(2,803 posts)
9. Cop boilerplate
Wed Feb 24, 2021, 09:35 PM
Feb 2021

You don't have to see very many DUI reports to figure out that cops get a list of catchphrases that are designed to (and do) support a finding of probable cause.

Those are both on the list.

 

Hugh_Lebowski

(33,643 posts)
3. Well, that was prudent ... if he had just had 2 shots, the breathalyzer might well read much
Wed Feb 24, 2021, 08:44 PM
Feb 2021

higher than his actual BAC.

And let me also say, if you drink regularly and you're not an exceedingly small person, two shots really won't do shit to you. Esp. if you've eaten recently.

no_hypocrisy

(45,786 posts)
4. This has to had to have been a plea deal.
Wed Feb 24, 2021, 08:48 PM
Feb 2021

When you have a traffic offense go to court, the judge usually sides with the police.

What likely happened: Springsteen's attorney met with the prosecutor. The prosecutor conferred with the cop. The two most serious claims were merged into the last and third offense, for which Springsteen would agree to plead guilty. This effectively had the two offenses dismissed.

I've done the same technique with my traffic clients. The courts just want the money from the fines and penalties. Make a reasonable request for another situation, and (unless it's too serious to allow for a plea bargain) and you'll likely get it. I have yet to see even one trial in municipal court for traffic. They're almost always settled.

 

Hoyt

(54,770 posts)
5. I think he pled guilty to consuming alcohol in his car, which
Wed Feb 24, 2021, 08:54 PM
Feb 2021

always seemed to be the only thing he might be guilty of if his alcohol level was that low and he wasn’t driving erratically. Also if I remember, he supposedly drove around a closed gate to enter the government property that was closed.

 

Hoyt

(54,770 posts)
8. Thanks. Must have got it confused with his Jeep commercial. Thought he
Wed Feb 24, 2021, 09:27 PM
Feb 2021

was in a Jeep, for some reason.

Dorian Gray

(13,469 posts)
24. There's a bar in Sandy Hook, so not entirely illegal to drink alcohol in the park
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 08:56 AM
Feb 2021

but off season when it's closed and you aren't supposed to be there at all.....

Jersey Devil

(9,863 posts)
20. No - He pleaded guilty to drinking in a public park
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 08:27 AM
Feb 2021

which is a local ordinance and not a motor vehicle offense or any kind of "criminal" offense.

Rocknation

(44,555 posts)
10. But Bruce never should have BEEN charged with DWI (.10+ BAC) to begin with!
Wed Feb 24, 2021, 09:40 PM
Feb 2021

Last edited Thu Feb 25, 2021, 03:30 PM - Edit history (9)

At .02 BAC, a DUI charge (.08 - .09 BAC) would have been a tough enough row to hoe -- why the overcharge? Throw in Bruce's embarrassment of Jeep by concealing the arrest from them, and it all sounds like an episode of Reno 911.


Rocknation

pnwmom

(108,925 posts)
11. Are you implying that he did more than what he pled to? I don't believe it.
Wed Feb 24, 2021, 09:52 PM
Feb 2021

Not with his .02 alcohol.

no_hypocrisy

(45,786 posts)
12. When you make a plea deal, it usually doesn't resemble the Truth.
Wed Feb 24, 2021, 11:46 PM
Feb 2021

All you want is the proverbial slap on the wrist, no points, a small fine, and you can live with the fiction.

I've done this dozens of times with my clients where they plead "guilty" to "unsafe driving" when in fact, they were driving "safely". As a traffic defense attorney, you'll never get the charges dropped once they're submitted. The best outcome is a different narrative with different charges.

Traffic Law, like Criminal Law, is relative. Unless you were there, only your client (and perhaps a witness) and the cop know what really happened. And the cop may be trying to get his/her quota for the day/week/month.

Demsrule86

(68,355 posts)
14. There is no plea deal. They would have lost a DUI trial. He wasn't drunk.
Wed Feb 24, 2021, 11:57 PM
Feb 2021

Cops were rousting him that is what it was.

no_hypocrisy

(45,786 posts)
15. You start with DUI and after making a deal with the prosecutor and the cop and the judge,
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 12:05 AM
Feb 2021

the DUI "goes away". He never was *tried* for DUI; he was only *charged* with it, an allegation.

pnwmom

(108,925 posts)
17. The fact that they started with a DUI doesn't mean he did anything to deserve that charge.
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 01:52 AM
Feb 2021

It just means that cop was trying to screw him. Now people like you will always insist that he really was drunk, but his lawyer made the charge "go away."

Jersey Devil

(9,863 posts)
21. True. In all likelihood the proscutor moved for dismissal
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 08:32 AM
Feb 2021

because he knew he could not prove the case. I was a municipal prosecutor in NJ for several years and that is what I would have done. DWI charges in NJ are not "plea bargained". Plea bargaining of DWI charges is strictly forbidden to prosecutors. They can, however, and do dismiss charges that they believe they cannot prove.

pnwmom

(108,925 posts)
16. There is no evidence that he made a plea "deal." He simply pled to the charge
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 01:50 AM
Feb 2021

that he obviously was guilty of.

Why would they drop that charge when it was open and shut?

no_hypocrisy

(45,786 posts)
18. You'd be surprised how truth and fiction get played with in a prosecutor's office.
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 06:52 AM
Feb 2021

Let's say I was tailgating a car, but it was in a line at a busy airport during a holiday, say, Labor Day Week-end.

Everyone essentially is tailgating, but I'm the one who got the ticket and nobody else got one.

My attorney goes to the prosecutor, explains the situation. We go searching for another offense to replace the original offense that carries an 8-point penalty. My attorney agrees to a 0-point offense, unsafe driving. It is now irrelevant whether I was tailgating b/c I'm going to plead guilty to a new offense. My attorney has saved my car insurance from going up and I'm not in jeopardy of getting another 4 point ticket where my license is revoked. (12 points will do the job.)

Remember how Bruce got three tickets initially? In NJ, that's almost standard for traffic stops. You may (or may not have) been speeding. Let's say 65 in a 60 zone on a highway. The cop gives you a ticket for going 75, a ticket for reckless driving, and not using a turn-signal. You go to court. Your attorney gets the reckless and the signal offenses to go away by merging them into the speeding violation. You either plead guilty to the last speeding offense and get 4 points, or if your attorney maybe knows the prosecutor, it will be agreed that you were still speeding, but at a lesser rate, to get 2 points. IOW, you don't skip out scott free, but the damage to your license has been minimalized.

That's how we do traffic law over here.

Jersey Devil

(9,863 posts)
22. Sure, but that does not happen with DWI offenses
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 08:35 AM
Feb 2021

and by the way, you cannot "merge" a more serious offense into a less serious offense.

Roisin Ni Fiachra

(2,574 posts)
23. Thank you for illustrating the widespread corruption inherent in US justice
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 08:50 AM
Feb 2021

systems nationwide.

All it takes is one dirty cop, and an innocent person is doing time in Huntsville.

pnwmom

(108,925 posts)
27. I understand that. But it also doesn't prove that Bruce did anything more than
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 11:20 AM
Feb 2021

the thing he obviously did and pleaded guilty to -- as some were suggesting.

no_hypocrisy

(45,786 posts)
28. And that is the problems inherent in The System.
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 11:42 AM
Feb 2021

Your car insurance company, the DMV, and others believe the allegations are “fact,” because you pled guilty.

Corgigal

(9,291 posts)
19. I heard,
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 07:33 AM
Feb 2021

Bruce is going to buy the New Jersey park , and write a whole album about this experience. It will open on Broadway in 2023.

Kind of dumb cop, seriously.

Rocknation

(44,555 posts)
31. Jeep said that they're going to restore it
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 01:36 PM
Feb 2021
The Detroit News (3/24/21): Jeep once again will promote its Super Bowl LV ad featuring Bruce Springsteen on its YouTube channel and website after prosecutors dropped drunken driving and reckless driving charges against the singer-songwriter.

"As we stated previously, we paused the commercial until the facts were established," a Jeep representative said in a statement. "Now, that the matter has been resolved, we are unpausing the film."



Rocknation
33. The man blew 0.02% blood alcohol. That tells me right there this was a jam job by a park ranger
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 05:27 PM
Feb 2021

...with a hard-on to take Bruce Springsteen down a notch. I was a cop. Any idiot can tell that somebody with that little booze in them isn't drunk.

I find it telling it was during November 2020. Most LEOs (law enf. officers) are conservative, many of them very conservative.

Charging someone who blows an 0.02% with DWI anyway is, IMO, unethical.

All the rest is just chatter.

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