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Sentencing is set for May 22 in connection with a car accident involving city Solicitor J. Jason Elash.
According to court officials, Elash, 41, of Christy Park pleaded guilty Monday before Allegheny County Judge Edward Borkowski to three related counts of driving under the influence, including driving with a blood-alcohol content level between 0.10 and 0.16, and to one count of driving at an unsafe speed.
The crash happened on Route 48 early on the morning of Jan. 22, 2012.
With the plea, Elash faces the possibility of state disciplinary action ranging from a private reprimand to a suspension of his law license.
Under state law, attorneys convicted of a crime must report their convictions to the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania within 20 days. The board then decides if and how to punish the attorney.
A spokeswoman for the Disciplinary Board said Tuesday that pleading guilty is considered the same as a conviction, and that driving under the influence is among the crimes subject to disciplinary action.
. . .
In Pennsylvania, penalties for being convicted for driving with a BAC between 0.10 and 0.16 include a minimum sentence of 48 hours in jail, a fine ranging from $500 to $5,000, and a 12-month driver's license suspension.
Since 2003, drivers with a BAC of 0.08 or greater have been considered impaired under state law.
Court documents filed in connection with the case indicated that Elash had a previous drunken-driving conviction. In the case of second offenses, more stringent sentencing guidelines apply, and would ratchet up the minimum penalties to 30 days in jail and a $750 to $5,000 fine, along with the driver's license suspension.
City police said Elash was driving south on Route 48 --- not far from the entrance of Olympia Shopping Center --- on Jan. 22, 2012, when his 2004 Cadillac SUV left the road and collided with an office building at 716 Long Run Road. Elash was the only person in the vehicle and was hospitalized for injuries after the crash, police said.
Published reports indicated that the crash occurred hours after Elash had attended a party at the Palisades ballroom. Elash served as the city's attorney from 2004 to 2010, then was re-appointed in January 2012.
. . .
According to state records, Elash began practicing law in April 1999.
The Disciplinary Board spokeswoman said that punishment can range from a private, informal admonition or a reprimand, all the way to disbarment or revocation of an attorney's license to practice. Depending on the type of disciplinary action imposed, the punishment may or may not be made public, she said.
Cases are considered on an individual basis and there is no pre-determined punishment for a DUI conviction, the spokeswoman said.
Following a hearing, it is up to the Disciplinary Board to decide what level of punishment to impose, and attorneys are allowed to present evidence in their own defense, she said.
Anyone who has already been given the “benefit of the doubt” once as far as driving under the influence has used up their “free pass” in my eyes.
Anyone who drives drunk a second time should face the full penalties of the law regardless of whether that person is an attorney or not.
Hopefully that will be the case here.
There should be no excuse. One run in with the law should be enough to modify someone’s actions.
As far as his law license? We hold people to no standards anymore.
Shouldn’t an attorney – someone who is supposed to know the ramifications of law – be held to a higher standard than us mere mortals?
Someone who takes the lives of others in his hands by drunk driving not just once but twice, and is only found out by crashing through buildings (how many times did he drive drunk and NOT get caught?) is obviously not able to handle his own actions. That person should be looked at very closely as to whether he is capable of handling important law related needs of others when he cannot manage his own behaviors.
Shadango - March 08, 2013
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