Kentucky lawmaker not guilty in DUI case will have license suspended for 45 days
State Rep. Derek J. Lewis of London will have his license to drive suspended for 45 days for declining to take a blood test in a drunken-driving investigation.
The attorney representing Lewis, Conrad Cessna, said Lewis agreed to the sanction “in an effort to put this entire case to bed.”
Police responding to another call saw Lewis’ pickup truck in a ditch near his home about 1:30 a.m. on April 16, 2020, according to a citation. He had been in Frankfort until late on the 15th, the last day of the legislative session.
When Lewis got out of the truck, he was “extremely unsteady” on his feet, was slurring his words and smelled of alcohol, Gary Mehler, an officer with the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, said in a citation.
Lewis, 34, refused to take a blood test after he was taken to Saint Joseph — London Hospital, according to the citation.
Police charged him with drunken driving.
A jury acquitted Lewis last month.
Lewis had told police he ran off the road when he reached for his phone. The citation did not include that statement.
Lewis’ wife confirmed that she sent him a text around that time, Cessna said.
The prosecutor in the case, assistant county attorney Bruce Bentley, was not allowed to tell jurors about Lewis refusing to take a blood test because of a Kentucky Supreme Court ruling from April.
The court said in that case that if a defendant refuses to submit to a warrantless blood test, that fact can’t be used as evidence to help prove guilt or seek a stiffer penalty.
Attorney General Daniel Cameron has asked the high court to reconsider the decision, arguing it will hinder the prosecution of many impaired driving cases.
Even in cases in which a person is acquitted of impaired driving, however, state law allows prosecutors to seek a license suspension if the person refused to take a test to measure impairment, Bentley said.
Bentley moved for that suspension after Lewis was acquitted.
Lewis agreed to the 45-day suspension on Wednesday, Cessna said.
Cessna said he felt it was petty of the prosecutor’s office to seek the suspension, but Bentley said that’s what the law allows.
“That’s just us following through on that,” Bentley said.
Lewis, a Republican, represents Clay and Leslie counties and part of Laurel County. He has been in the House since 2019.
