Tiger Woods was arrested early Monday morning for Driving Under the Influence. He was just named the “10th most famous athlete in the world.” According to an article released by ESPN on Tuesday. He is a notable household name in the United States, even for those who do not follow sports. The last 8 years have been rough on Tiger Woods, with sex scandals and multiple back surgeries distracting him from his golf game, and bringing the national media to his attention.
This arrest on Monday morning is just another setback for an athlete who can be argued as the best to ever play the sport (we can argue about him and Jack Nicklaus another day). But what happens next for Tiger Woods in the legal process? Let’s look at the facts. There is still a lot of information that is still unknown, but he has come out and said that he was not under the influence of alcohol, but it was a mix of his medication that made him have a bad reaction. This seems accurate, as far as the alcohol goes, he blew a 0.00 on his breathalyzer test after being arrested. This does not excuse him from the DUI, driving under the influence of drugs is still recognized as a DUI. He was also shown a police dashcam, slurring his speech and wobbling while standing, failing one sobriety test after another, proving his use of some sort drugs. One other fact to note is that he is a first time offender. This means that he will likely face no jail time, and will have serve community service and have a suspended license. Another fact to note is that he was stopped on the side of the road when the police arrived, so there is a chance that he pulled over once he felt the side effects of the drugs.
Tiger has a hearing on July 5th, where he could defend himself, or plead guilty to the charges, and perhaps acquire a plea deal for his cooperation. A plea deal would mean he would be could reduce his charges to something like reckless driving instead of a DUI. Penalties for reckless driving are similar to DUI, but much less severe. If he decides to defend himself, there are a couple of defenses he could use. Such as the, the drugs he were prescribed gave him unknown side effects, or the doctors did not tell him the risks of taking drugs like Vicotin. This would be a stretch to argue, since Vicotin has many warnings saying it may cause drowsiness. Tiger could sue the companies in charge of making the medicine, saying they were bad prescriptions. Again, this may be hard to get away with.
Tiger has since came out and has said, “I understand the severity of what I did, and I take full responsibility for my actions.” So it seems as if he is going to own up to what he did, although that statement does not confirm that he broke the law. I think most likely, Tiger is going to take a plea, since he is a first time offender, and will only have to serve community service and possibly have a suspended license. We will have to wait until July 5th to see how Tiger pleas.
We never condone driving under the influence. If you are ever arrested for a DUI, call the Law Offices of Nick Del Pizzo to help you through your case.