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Jan 30, 2007 11:08 am US/Eastern
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Wisconsin Lawyer Picks Up Drunk Client, Gets DUI
MADISON, Wis. (AP) ―
Police arrested a Wisconsin lawyer for drunken driving after he went to the station to pick up a client who had been arrested for the same offense, reports WCCO-TV, the CBS affiliate in Minneapolis.
"I can't tell you how humbled I am, how embarrassed I am," said lawyer Rick Petri, who once prosecuted drunken drivers for the Madison, Wis., attorney's office.
Petri's client, former Dane County Board member Patrick DePula, 34, was arrested early Thursday for drunken driving, Madison police spokesman Mike Hanson said. His blood alcohol concentration was 0.08 percent.
Petri, 64, said he had been out the same evening, had a couple of drinks and went home about 8 p.m. to watch a college basketball game. He said he had a couple more drinks, then went to bed.
He said police called around about 2 a.m. Thursday asking him to pick up DePula.
Petri said the officer asked if he had been drinking, and said he could only come if he had no alcohol in his system.
He said he was certain his blood-alcohol concentration was under 0.08 percent, the legal limit for drunken driving in Wisconsin.
"I did not think I was intoxicated, and I was wrong," Petri said.
But when Petri arrived, he was given a preliminary breath test that indicated a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.09 percent and was placed under arrest for drunken driving.
Petri said he should not have trusted his "glib certitude" that he was sober enough to drive, and he is thankful that he did not hurt anyone.
"If there's anybody who should have known better, it was me," he said. "All I can do is apologize to my client, my family and my community."
DePula and Petri were cited for first offenses. The offense is punishable by a fine of $150 to $300, plus a $355 surcharge and license suspension or revocation of six to nine months, along with an alcohol assessment.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)