King County Assessor says sorry for Seattle DUI crash
The latest public figure to be arrested for a serious Seattle DUI charge has talked with the media after several months of silence, saying that he is an alcoholic, but that he is functional and can continue to do his job.
There are many functional alcoholics in high-powered positions. The fact is that many he was doing his job well, and for all outward appearances continues to do so. If he's missed stretches of days after the accident, well, that's to be expected. Here's the Seattle Weekly's take on it:
The Daily Weekly - Scott Noble Says He's Sorry, Alcoholic...But What's His Strategy? - Seattle Weekly: "King County Assessor Scott Noble's facing a seemingly unwinnable criminal case (possibly followed by a prison term and a seemingly unwinnable civil case) over his drunk, wrong-way crash on I-5 in January. But he hadn't talked to the media until yesterday, when he gave an interview to King-5 News:
'I want to apologize, but I also want to bring up the fact that I'm an alcoholic, I'm a recovering alcoholic and have been for 20 years.'
Despite that admission, Noble insists that he is fit to continue as King County assessor, an elected office he has held since 1992.
'My disease of alcoholism has not impaired the functioning of this office, nor has it impaired my performance as assessor,' Noble said.
Except he's missed stretches of days, pretty much everyone's asked him to step down, and he'll be out for sure if he gets a felony conviction. Nevertheless, the office has seemingly functioned well, winning several awards.
When faced with similar scenarios, many public figures choose to do damage control by taking a break from their jobs and going into inpatient rehab. So why the Blago impression, and what would it mean for his case? We asked DUI defense attorney Dan Fiorito for his thoughts.
Rehab is pretty much a given, Fiorito says, but 'voluntarily entering treatment could have some play with the judge, could give him some sway with the prosecutor,' though he adds it seemed unlikely to be significant."
As I always say, better to give productive members of society who get a DUI and admit that they have a problem with alcohol or drugs a chance to get help and turn their lives around. It doesn't make sense to deprive the public of a good and willing servant if he is able to do his job.
Under Washington DUI law, he faces potentially stiff penalties. DUI cases should not be about exacting revenge or extracting punishment and pain from the accused. If society's goal is truly to keep people safe from drunk drivers, then a therapy oriented approach is best.
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