Who is to say that Mo Taylor did not drive stoned? Haven, mar1juana stays in your system for up to a month, so you are mentally impaired for the ENTIRE month, though with far diminished effects. I will withhold judgement on Francis until the facts come out. If he is proven guilty, then he should get the same fine and penalty that any other drunk driver gets. A fine and a revoked drivers license. The matter flips around completely if he was in a wreck. At that point it is a much more serious endeavour. I don't think drinking and driving is smart, or a good thing, but I know that police can be SERIOUSLY overzealous when charging someone. My roomate got charged in college with drunk driving, he had ONE FRICKEN DRINK !!! ONE...it was later dismissed, but it cost him over $5000. I have had several friends charged with it, and they also were found NOT guilty. Innocent until proven guilty gentlemen, if you don't like it you can all move to the Middle East and be in those countries that our pal DYLAN seems to cherish so much. DaDakota
The Rockets lose a few more games, Hakeem blasts the Rockets and everything about them. Mo Taylor gets caught using mar1juana, gets suspended for 5 games. Francis is caught drinking and driving. Just another week for these Rockets.
I hope he didn't blow (into the breathalyzer). If he didn't blow, then he'll lose his license for a few months (but still be able to get a work license), but he most likely won't get convicted. If he did blow, then he's going to need a really good lawyer to get off. I had two DWIs back in my college days, so I have an idea what he's going through. And no, I don't do it anymore. They threw my a*s in jail the second time, and I learned my lesson...
The Rockets should trade Francis. He's obviously gonna be the next headcase in this league and we don't need a player like him being the face of the Rockets. Anyone who drives drunk deserves no respect. He could've killed any one of your family members. I say we trade him for someone like Rip Hamilton or for a great draft pick. Dajuan Wagner, anyone?
According to those I'm talking to, Steve passed two field tests, and <B>refused to take the breathalyzer</B>, and that's why he was arrested.
Whew! He'll get off. The cops get pissed when you don't blow, but it's nearly impossible to get a conviction without that (which is why they get pissed). He'll probably have his license suspended for a while, but that's no biggie (he'll be able to get a temp license to drive to "work")... Smart kid.
Francis is one smart mofo. Sounds like a BS charge to me. He wasn't drunk, and my family isn't typically driving around Westheimer at 5 in the morning.
I would hardly say he is smart.. If we was not drunk, then he should of taken the test.. Someone elses family probably was.. And how can you say whether he was drunk or not?
If he was really drunk, he probably wouldn't have thought to refuse the breathalyzer. He had probably had a couple but wasn't really drunk, and he knew that you don't have to be drunk to fail a breathalyzer... He was sober enough to know to refuse a breathalyzer. And pass a couple of field sobriety tests...
Never, and I mean NEVER EVER !!! blow into the breathalyzer. It is inaccurate, and can NEVER do any good for the person who is blowing into it. Cops are over zealous WAY to often. DaDakota
No, he shouldn't have. You have no way of knowing when you are "legally drunk", or if the machine is accurate, etc. If you have had even one drink, you should never take a breathalyzer. The downside is just too huge. I can say he wasn't drunk because he passed 2 field tests, per Clutch. If that doesn't mean he's sober, the cops need to get new tests.
What is wrong with you Freak? "some family" might have been driving at 5 in the morning around that area for a variety of legitimate reasons...The point is many idiots drive drunk or under the influence and if idiot in question continues the act, then idiot in question will likely commit vehicular manslaughter...That is what idiots in question do. They hit the bars, then drive home drunk in a vehicular game of russian roulette...maybe they kill tonight...maybe they won't. But eventually somebody gets killed due to the idiot who thought he could do it or do it again...
But Francis wasn't drunk. There are many people on this BBS who have driven in his exact condition. You're naive if you think otherwise.
1) The reason a breathalyzer is used is because it is scientific proof of intoxication. Field tests are only indicative of intoxication, but they're not nearly as objective. Tell you right now, I couldn't recite the alphabet backwards to save my life, but I can walk a straight line, touch my nose with my pinkies, and speak lucidly even after drinking a distillery. So without knowing what tests were administered, it's difficult to say Steve wasn't drunk just because he passed them. I would never assume someone wasn't drunk just because they performed the field tests well and then refused a breath test. To me, that says very simply that the person thinks they're intoxicated and doesn't want it proved scientifically. There's literally no other reason to refuse one, if you haven't been drinking. Spare me the pride argument (the one that says, "He knew he wasn't drunk and refused to submit to a needless test!"). In that situtation, you blow your 0.00 or whatever, then sue the HPD. You don't refuse the test and create this kind of controversy-- that would be plainly idiotic. 2) If you're curious as to what you'd have to drink (and in what time frame) to register a .008, check out this link. What I drank last night put me at 0.1332-- drunk even by the older, more permissive standards. I was not reeling or puking; I wouldn't have driven (and didn't), but I felt like I probably could have in a pinch. Adjust it for Steve's weight, and it's still over 0.10. That's why I have a hard time believing Steve has been wrongly accused here: you almost always feel less intoxicated than your BAL indicates. He probably felt fine, decided to drive home, and (as Freak pointed out), probably decided to run the red intentionally-- because the streets were deserted. Hell, I'd bet he could see for yards either direction that no one was coming. Then he got pulled over, passed the field tests, and when presented with the breath test, knew he was pinched. So he refused to take it. There is a precedent for this, in recent Rocket history.
No kidding.... eery how simliar it was to Pippen eh? Scottie was arrested in the wee hours of the morning (April of '99) after running a red light downtown. He was arrested because he fared poorly in a field sobriety test and then refused a breathalyzer test. He spent about 6 hours in jail (Francis 7) and then was released on $500 bail.
I'm not going to jump on Francis or anybody until everything is brought out. I'll withhold judgement for now, I hope Francis is cleared.
Kagy: Some of those field sobriety tests are difficult to pass when you're sober. They're intentionally rigged in order to give cops the probable cause they need to administer a breathalyzer, in the event that they smell no alcohol. Steve had probably had a couple, but if he was really drunk he would not have passed two sobriety tests. The cops probably smelled it on him (they usually have pretty good olfactory senses) and knew he'd been drinking. And you're right, when someone refuses the breathalyzer that's always a good indication that they've been drinking, but it in no way means they're drunk. But it sure does piss the cops off. Steve did the right thing by not taking the breathalyzer. I'm glad he was sober enough to realize that blowing is bad...
I am extremely disappointed with Steve. He should know better; he is one of the upper-tier poster-players in the NBA. It was really stupid of him, considering he could have killed someone. It really made me sad to find out it was him. But there is one thing - I don't think we should tell him to "pack up, cause we're shipping you off to the Warriors." He made a mistake, and it could have been costly, but it wasn't. A human is fallible. Even Stevie Franchise. He should be punished just like any other person who is charged with a DWI. But...he should - and he will - be given a second chance. I don't think it will happen again.
