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Drink-driving judge escapes jail term
Retired New South Wales judge Roderick Howie has been sentenced to 100 hours of community service and received a six-month licence suspension for drink-driving. The Australian reports that at…
Lawyers Weekly
Retired New South Wales judge Roderick Howie has been sentenced to 100 hours of community service and received a six-month licence suspension for drink-driving.
With Howie holidaying in Japan on his 22 June court date, Howie's lawyer pleaded guilty to the offence on his behalf, for which he potentially faced a nine-month prison sentence, a $2,200 fine and the loss of his licence for 12 months.
At the time of the collision, which occurred just a few blocks from his home in Beecroft, Howie was under the influence of a "cocktail of alcohol and medication", including Valium and three types of prescription medication for anxiety and sleeplessness. Howie had also drunk two glasses of scotch and a bottle of wine the night before the accident.
Magistrate Daniel Reiss noted how "painfully ironic" it was to sentence the retired judge for drink-driving given Howie, as an acting judge for the NSW Court of Appeal, had written the guideline judgement for high-range drink-driving.
