Washington Judge Timothy Ryan Avoids DUI Conviction
Timothy Ryan, a District Court Judge in Snohomish County, Washington was arrested for suspected drunken driving on August 29, 2012 and has avoided a conviction based on a lack of sufficient evidence. According to police, Ryan was pulled over by a state trooper for speeding and driving erratically along the Bothell-Everett Highway. When the trooper questioned Ryan, he noticed several signs of alcohol intoxication such as slurred speech, an odor of alcohol, and glassy, blood-shot eyes. After suspecting him of drunk driving, the trooper asked Ryan to perform a few field sobriety tests, which the judge declined. Timothy Ryan was then arrested and taken to the Mill Creek police headquarters where he also refused to submit a breathalyzer test. While state troopers believe Ryan was clearly intoxicated, especially after having admitted that he did drink a beer at dinner before being pulled over, the King County prosecutor conceded that Ryan would benefit from the testimony of his friend and fellow District Judge.
However, their two stories don’t exactly add up. While Ryan maintains he only had one beer, his friend, Judge Roger Fisher, stated that Ryan had 2 glasses of wine at dinner over a 3 hour period. While enough time could have passed for Ryan’s body to metabolize the wine, he was still less than honest about what kind and how much alcohol he had. Erin Norgaard, a deputy prosecutor, said “Although Judge (Ryan) lied to the trooper about the type and quantity of alcohol he consumed, the amount of alcohol that he did consume is still insufficient to prove impairment under the circumstances of this case“. According to state law, any person that refuses to submit a breathalyzer test faces a mandatory 2 year license suspension, although, Ryan is scheduled to appeal the suspension in an administrative hearing on November 27, 2012. Timothy Ryan has not presided over any cases in the last few months since he is on sick leave, recovering from hip surgery.
If you have been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced and skilled Washington DUI attorney for legal assistance.
It is distressing to see Judge Ryan crucified as he is on the Internet, especially in light of his colleague & friend Judge Roger Fisher having been arrested in the mid-’90s for his own DUI, bailing out at the first opportunity, returning to his chambers…and wiping out his own case. Even more troublesome is that Fisher still ‘serves’ on the bench today. I have encountered both judges–conversing at length with Ryan after he presided over my best friend’s daughter’s wedding, dealing with Fisher as defendant in 2 traffic tickets and as plaintiff in one lawsuit–and I can say this: Ryan is a fair, decent man who made a mistake and owned up to it, albeit passively, by resigning; Fisher is a highly reckless man who not only made the same mistake but abused his privileged & delegated powers to make it vanish to save his own career. Furthermore, Fisher is a boor & a bully to all those who cross his path. Most of those whom Fisher judged, like myself, didn’t expect the cases to go our way as much as we expected to receive wisdom, patience, clarity, but received none…only wholesale arrogance & mockery. Fisher considers every case before him a waste of his time and he makes it fully known in his courtroom. He is wholly unsuited for judgment and must be removed from the bench. Why does absolutely nobody speak up against Fisher? How have we all forgotten about his own sins?