"Debra Bolton had a glass of red wine with dinner. That's what she told the police officer who pulled her over. That's what the Intoxilyzer 5000 breath test indicated -- .03, comfortably below the legal limit.
She had been pulled over in Georgetown about 12:30 a.m. for driving without headlights. She apologized and explained that the parking attendant must have turned off her vehicle's automatic-light feature.
Bolton thought she might get a ticket. Instead, she was handcuffed, searched, arrested, put in a jail cell until 4:30 a.m. and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.
Bolton, 45, an energy lawyer and single mother of two who lives in Alexandria, had just run into a little-known piece of D.C. law: In the District, a driver can be arrested with as little as .01 blood-alcohol content."
There, but for the grace of your personal deity, goes any of us.I heard about Ms. Bolton's arrest the day that it happened, and I couldn't believe it. Now that I've read about it in the Post, I still can't believe it. Understand that Ms. Bolton is an accomplished lawyer with friends all over town. And it took her four months and thousands of dollars to fight this after a terrifying and humiliating night in jail. You can imagine how it turns out for those people without such intestinal fortitude or education.
So, my friends, if you want a glass of wine with dinner, do it in Virginia or Maryland. Moreover, if you see Ms. Bolton out in the suburbs, buy her a drink. She deserves it.
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