Drunk Drivers: Here's An "Interesting" Defense

Drunk driving is one of the topics that will quickly get my blood to boiling. My aunt and uncle were killed by a drunk driver and my cousin (their son) was burned terribly in the accident. The same drunk driver left my cousin and his two sisters orphans. After my mother had to endure the tragic loss of her brother, her daughter, yours truly, has been hit twice by drunk drivers. (Most gratefully, no serious injuries despite the severity of the accidents.)

When I ran across this story the other day, I had to shake my head in disgust -- both at another DUI driver and at the audacity of the schmuck for coming up with such an idiotic defense. [Source]

DUI Defendant Claims He Is His Own Country

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

EASTON, Pa. — A man accused of driving drunk said Pennsylvania courts have no jurisdiction over him because he's his own country. After seeing the paperwork that 44-year-old Scott Allan Witmer filed with the court claiming sovereignty, a Northampton County judge said Tuesday he cannot be released from jail until he gets a mental exam.

Witmer, who represented himself, said he believes police lack jurisdiction to pull him over. As he said in court: "I live inside myself, not in Pennsylvania." He said there is no victim in the crime and asked to go to trial.

Defense attorney James Connell, Witmer's standby counsel, said a challenge to the traffic stop would need to be filed as a pretrial motion.

I wonder if there might be some slimy DUI-specializing attorney who will defend this SOB ... hopefully not using the guy's defense. Well, at least the judge in the case seems to have some sense. I agree -- the defendant needs to have a mental exam.