Pennsylvania’s former high legislation enforcement officer, who as soon as served jail time for leaking secret investigative information and mendacity about it, was acquitted Monday of drunken driving.
A Lackawanna County choose acquired former Lawyer Basic Kathleen Kane of drunken driving and careless driving after a one-day bench trial in Scranton.
Kane, 56, was charged by Scranton police after he received right into a minor automotive crash on March 12.
Police mentioned Kane instructed officers she was a delegated driver, however video surveillance confirmed Kane himself had been consuming alcohol at a Scranton restaurant shortly earlier than the crash, in keeping with a police affidavit. Officers asserted Kane had watery, bloodshot eyes, slurred his phrases and failed a area sobriety take a look at.
Kane’s lawyer, Jason Mattioli, mentioned police physique digital camera footage confirmed him coming into and exiting a automobile with out problem. He added that made his officers take the sphere sobriety take a look at on a snow- and ice-covered car parking zone in driving wind.
“She was set as much as fail,” he mentioned in a cellphone interview after the decision.
Kane was taken to a DUI processing heart, the place different legislation enforcement officers and workers mentioned they didn’t scent alcohol on her or detect impairment, Mattioli mentioned.
Police mentioned Kane refused a blood take a look at.
Lackawanna County District Lawyer Mark Powell mentioned he was dissatisfied within the choose’s choice.
“Given the energy of the proof we offered, I struggled to know how the choose might discover her not responsible,” he mentioned by way of e-mail.
As soon as a rising star in Pennsylvania politics, Kane was the primary lady and first Democrat elected because the state’s high prosecutor. She resigned after being convicted in 2016 of perjury, obstruction and different counts for leaking secret investigative information to embarrass a rival prosecutor.
Kane served eight months of a 10-to-23-month sentence. She was launched in 2019.
Kane entered therapy three days after the automotive crash, then reported to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility exterior Philadelphia on April 29.
Kane appeared in Montgomery County Courtroom final Might and confessed she violated her probation when she was arrested for drunken driving. She was sentenced to 2 months to a yr of imprisonment, however was given credit score for the time she had served.