Judge J. Mac Davis: Another Bad Ruling

Judge J. Mac Davis has poor judgment.

He reduced the bail of Mark Benson from $1 million to $500,000.

Benson is charged in the traffic deaths of Jennifer Bukosky, her unborn child, and Courtney, her 10-year-old daughter.

Davis enabled Benson to walk out of jail.

Not surprisingly, Benson violated the conditions of his bail and now he's back in jail; but the bail of this repeat offender should never have been reduced in the first place.

Davis has added another bad ruling to his record.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A police officer who stops to assist a motorist on the side of the road and then discovers the driver is intoxicated can make an arrest even if the officer didn't observe unlawful driving, the state Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.

The appeals court decision overturns a Waukesha County Circuit Court ruling that dismissed a charge of fifth-offense drunken driving filed against Lance F. Truax of Waukesha in July 2007.

The Appeals Court panel in Waukesha ordered that the criminal complaint be reinstated against Truax.

The Menomonee Falls officer who eventually arrested Truax had seen him abruptly pull his car onto the shoulder about 12:30 a.m. July 8, 2007, near the Davians Banquet Center on Silver Spring Drive.

Concerned that the driver might have a medical condition or a mechanical problem, the officer stopped and asked Truax if he needed help, court records say.

Truax told the officer he was looking for his girlfriend, who had been with Truax at the banquet center.

Then the officer smelled alcohol and asked Truax if he had been drinking. Truax, who had been sentenced on a fourth offense drunken driving seven months earlier, replied, "Yes, probably too much," court records state.

The officer conducted field sobriety tests and arrested Truax on suspicion of drunken driving.

Truax had a blood-alcohol level of 0.21, court records show. A level of 0.08 is considered legal evidence of intoxication for most adult drivers in Wisconsin, but people with three or more drunken-driving convictions are prohibited from driving with a level of 0.02 or higher.

After charges were filed, Truax filed a motion to suppress evidence obtained during the stop of his vehicle based on lack of reasonable suspicion.

Prosecutors argued that the officer did not need probable cause because the officer was acting in the capacity of a community caretaker - someone providing aid - when he discovered the driver had been drinking.

Waukesha County Circuit Judge J. Mac Davis ruled in favor of Truax, saying there was no objective evidence necessitating the officer to engage in a community caretaker function.

But the appeals court said Truax's abrupt departure from the road prompted the officer's concern about whether Truax's vehicle had experienced a mechanical problem or whether Truax himself had suffered from a medical condition.

The decision has been recommended for publication, which makes it a precedent for other cases.

What was Davis thinking?

He has remarkably poor judgment and endangers the public as a result.