Sheriff should resign
by M. Stewart
Like anybody else, Columbiana County Sheriff Dave Smith is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but given the apparent evidence against him, which now includes the results of a urine test, things aren’t looking good.
If Smith is found guilty of OVI, the law prohibits him from seeking re-election. Even if he is found not guilty of the charges against him, the unflattering video and audio account of his arrest will make any bid for re-election virtually impossible.
According to the Morning Journal, Smith is sticking with his not-guilty pleas and will fight the various charges associated with his Oct. 11 arrest in Geurnsey County. Given the apparent evidence, one has to wonder what he stands to gain by a high-profile jury trial.
Because the trial will be covered closely by television and print media throughout the region, the situation is bigger than Smith. The reputation of the county sheriff’s department—indeed, the entire county—will be on the line.
While I very much believe that Dave Smith should do whatever he and his attorney think is right for his personal legal situation, he should seriously reconsider going through the process wearing his badge. Put more directly, the sheriff should resign sooner rather than later.
Like anybody else, Columbiana County Sheriff Dave Smith is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but given the apparent evidence against him, which now includes the results of a urine test, things aren’t looking good.
If Smith is found guilty of OVI, the law prohibits him from seeking re-election. Even if he is found not guilty of the charges against him, the unflattering video and audio account of his arrest will make any bid for re-election virtually impossible.
According to the Morning Journal, Smith is sticking with his not-guilty pleas and will fight the various charges associated with his Oct. 11 arrest in Geurnsey County. Given the apparent evidence, one has to wonder what he stands to gain by a high-profile jury trial.
Because the trial will be covered closely by television and print media throughout the region, the situation is bigger than Smith. The reputation of the county sheriff’s department—indeed, the entire county—will be on the line.
While I very much believe that Dave Smith should do whatever he and his attorney think is right for his personal legal situation, he should seriously reconsider going through the process wearing his badge. Put more directly, the sheriff should resign sooner rather than later.
posted by M. | 7:36 AM
16 Comments:
Well, I must agree that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. But just exactly how can someone continue to claim not guilty with all the evidence. Maybe some of our police readers can enlighten the rest of us. What exactly is the sheriff hoping for? A plea down to a lesser charge? And what are the probabilities of that with the video evidence and the high profile of the case?
There are a lot of variables to drunken driving cases.
If there can be any doubt about the time frame in which the urine test was done, then it can be tossed out. There could also be questions about contaminents in the testing area, the person who did the testing, if Smith is on any medications that could change the test results.
Most people agree to a plea on a first DUI of reckless operation, so the DUI won't be on their record.
And the profile doesn't make a difference if there can be doubt on the evidence. The profile might even hurt it, because his lawyer could argue that there was bias against his client.
There will be no jury trial on this. There will be a plea reached a long time before that happens.
I cannot say I understand Sheriff Smith's strategy here, but there are two angles to consider--one political, the other personal.
I think most would agree with the opinion that Smith's political life is over. As to his personal legal problems, I'm sure his attorney has a plan. Exactly what that is I have no idea. We'll have to wait and see.
To Legalbeagle; You hit the nail right on the head! Smith is no dummy and neither is his attorney, I'll bet he is the best money can buy! Just as Daveyboy was inhaling during the breathalizer, he already had formed a plan! He knew he stood a better chance of taking the urine test because it would pass through more people's hands, thus allowing his attorney to find fault with the chain of custody!
The breathalizer test is administered at the Ohio State Highway Patrol barricks and the results are known immediately! NO and, if, or buts!
And as far as this being a high profile case, they should make an example out of him!
One can only hope that the intellegent voters of this county don't put him back in office. People in general have a way of forgetting things over time. I wonder what the other 87 county Sheriff's think of his behavior? I wonder if their constituents would re-elect them, if the shoe was on their foot? I bet not!!
To M; I've been saying since this story broke that he should resign and save the county the embarassment of his actions! This will be interesting to watch play out. I wonder how he is getting back and forth to work? Taxi? Or is someone transporting him? And if so, do they sit around all day waiting to see if they need to take him to crime scene? Are they getting paid? Are they driving the county owned vehicle? Wouldn't you think that the commissioners would say something? Anything? Besides we'll have wait and see, especially now?!
Just for the sake of argument & being a little cynical this evening let me throw out this. What if the Cambridge Law director doesn't offer a plea deal? What if he wants the publicity such a high profile case would give him? If it does go to trial coverage would be at least state wide. Maybe Mr. Ferguson has political ambitions. What happens to Smith's chance of skating on this? I imagine Mr. Smith is tremendously apprehensive about his future at this point. It will indeed be interesting to see how this plays out.
He will be offered a plea deal because it's cheaper to have a defendant offer a plea than it is to have a trial and then keep that person in jail. And if they put a sheriff in jail, they'll have the added expense of keeping him away from the other inmates.
Plus, they just won't care all that much about making an example out of a sheriff from a county two hours away.
And really, coverage of this won't go statewide, or if it does, nobody will remember it in a day and a half. It's not like a John Grisham novel where the prosecutor thinks he'll build his whole career on a single high-profile case...it's a big deal here but nobody else out there really cares about a misdemeanor DUI.
I would have to say if Smith screwed up like that out of his territory , who knows what the hell he gets away with in Columbiana County.....and there is one of the reasons , unsolved murders remain unsolved : our law enforcement all think they are above the law.
Go to Pondis and watch how many of our officials throw back the drinks between 5 and 7 pm.
What Smith did shows arrogance and a feeling that hes above the laws. His comments to the patrolman prove this out. This goes on much more than you know. The good ol boy network works most of the time. This time it did not. The highway patrolman should be praised for being a true lawman and not buying into the good ol boy network.
Was everyone this hard on Sean Logan when he was arrested for DUI? His DUI just went away and now he has a state job.
Oh and Logans DUI wasnt broadcast on the TV or in the papers for weeks.
Mr. Logan was never the chief law enforcement officer in the county.
This case has already made the local news on Columbus television stations, as well as in the Dispatch. Folks around here seemed to enjoy watching the video of the arrest -- kind of like when Mayor Coleman's wife was charged with DUI...
Matt, you beat me to it. I was going to ask Dumpsterdiver if Sean Logan had ever been in a politcal/elected position. Thanks for clearing it for them. Things like Sheriff Smith's position, is what provokes the media/political villions, and so on.
And Logan never tried to use his position to get out of the charge and just sucked it up, said he made a mistake and took his punishment.
There is a difference, however slight it may seem.
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