The Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction was arrested on Sunday at 1:30 a.m. on suspicion of WA drunk driving.  Randy Dorn has made somewhat of a name for himself in the state of Washington by pushing for standardized teacher evaluations.

A brave thing to do, considering the Teachers Union is one of the most powerful unions in the state, and are passionately opposed to all standardization.  Research indicates that local needs dictate the best means of evaluations for both students and teachers.

Dorn is a strong supporter of No Child Left Behind, legislation enacted under George W. Bush, which dictates that all children receive a standardized test to evaluate their educational growth.  While GW considers it the greatest legislative achievement of his two terms, NCLB has been criticized by educational professionals.  It requires expensive standardized tests but provides no funding; and it tests only reading, writing, science and math, meaning that civics, music, art, and history all get reduced funding, if they are fortunate not to be completely cut out curriculums.

Regardless of his stance on NCLB it’s a good thing he left the kids at home on Sunday night.  Even though you are in your car, a Washington DUI is a criminal issue, and having minors involved in a DUI is a MAJOR problem.  In fact many prosecutors around Western Washington will fill additional charges based solely on minors being in the vehicle at the time of the Washington DUI incident. 

No doubt Dorn will retain an experienced Washington DUI attorney to contest his case.  Washington drunk driving laws are extremely tough.  Even if this is your first offense, a WA State DUI conviction means that you will be sentenced to at least one day in jail and face a minimum mandatory 90-day license suspension.

If you are charged with a WA State DUI and your alleged BAC was either above .15 or you refused to take a breath test, then the penalties increase.  You would then be looking at a minimum 48 hours in jail and a mandatory one-year license suspension.  A good Washington driving under the influence attorney can do many things to influence the outcome of your case. 

By the way, if you are in need of the services of an experienced and aggressive Washington DUI attorney, you should consider calling the Law Offices of Jason S. Newcombe.  Mr. Newcombe is an experienced WA State drunk driving lawyer, and he will vigorously defend your legal rights.