As a Los Angeles Defense Attorney I see a lot of repeats in my caseload. I was therefore not surprised that Rodney King, famous for the police brutality in his 1991 DUI arrest, would once more be under the spotlight for DUIs. Rodney’s been no stranger to trouble with the law since that time, clocking a plethora of offenses all seemingly related to his apparent issues with alcohol and drug abuse.
I can certainly understand the need for DUI penalties–especially in those cases where harm was doing to human life due to the defendant’s inebriation. However, punishment is not the deterrent to future incidents when someone has a substance abuse issue or happens to be an alcoholic. Punishment does nothing to prevent the individual from getting behind the wheel of the vehicle again while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. I know this because I see it every day. Even those who lose their license will still try to drive. Unless a police officer is stapled to their bodies the alcoholic or drug addict will continue to behave in reckless ways. Punishment after the fact may give them pause for awhile, but it won’t cause any permanent change in behavior because, ultimately, they are still an addict or alcoholic. Rehabilitation, however, can and does change behavior.
I see my job as a Hollywood defense attorney as trying to bring balance to the community I live in. How is society served by punishing drug addicts and alcoholics? Their offenses are usually not severe enough to take them off the streets permanently. They will eventually commit another act of crime or ignorance because they are controlled by addiction and dependency. In my opinion, society is served when the individual redeems himself or herself and becomes a productive, functioning member of society.
It would have been nice to see a rehabilitated Rodney King in the pages of the newspaper rather than yet another mugshot.
