Expert: Mayor's wife unlikely to avoid jail

Her blood-alcohol level appeared to be more than three times the legal limit.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The wife of Mayor Michael Coleman, a Democrat running for governor in 2006, would have a hard time avoiding jail on charges of drunken driving if she attempted to plea bargain, legal experts said.
Frankie Coleman, 55, who was arrested a week ago after her car hit a parked truck in suburban Bexley, failed a field sobriety test and registered 0.271 on a blood-alcohol test -- more than three times the legal limit of 0.08, police said.
State law requires a mandatory three-day jail sentence for motorists who have blood-alcohol levels of 0.17 or more.
Coleman's high reading makes it unlikely that a prosecutor would agree to a plea deal that reduces the charges against her, said Mitch Allen, an attorney in Lebanon who handles drunken driving cases.
"Unless the evidence in this case is so bad, I would be absolutely shocked if the prosecutor reduced the charges, especially for such a high-profile person," Allen said. "The public is going to scrutinize this case."
Charges
Police charged Coleman with two counts of drunken driving, one based on the officers' observations and another based on the blood-alcohol test. She also was charged with failure to control.
Coleman was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Franklin County Municipal Court, but Judge Amy Salerno granted a request by her attorneys to delay the arraignment for two weeks.
Salerno said the attorneys did not give a reason for the request and aren't required to provide an explanation.
City Attorney Stephen McIntosh said Thursday he has not discussed a plea deal with Coleman's lawyers but said it is possible that there could be a resolution when she appears in court. He said in cases such as this, if the test results hold up, the defendant would have to plead to the charge.
A message seeking comment was left with Coleman's attorneys.
Possibilities
If Coleman's attorneys can prove that there were problems with the blood-alcohol test, they would have bargaining leverage with prosecutors, said Columbus attorney Brad Koffel, whose firm represents hundreds of drunken driving cases a year.
Machines that test for blood-alcohol content must be properly maintained, and officers giving the test must do so in a room with low levels of radio frequency interference, away from cell phones and police radios, Koffel said.
If Bexley police officers failed to do any of this, Coleman's attorneys could seek a deal with prosecutors that dismisses the test results in exchange for a guilty plea on reduced drunken driving charges, Koffel said. Such a deal might involve a sentence of 72 hours in an alcohol education program, a six-month suspension of her driver's license and a fine of around $350, Koffel said.
"If she doesn't get that, she's looking at jail," Koffel said. "There's really no in between."
Bexley police have said they are confident in their work that night.
The Colemans have refused to talk publicly about the arrest. In a statement released last week, Frankie Coleman said, "I take full responsibility for my actions, and I fully acknowledge and regret my mistake."
Paul Beck, a professor of political science at Ohio State University, said it would be in the best interest of Frankie Coleman -- and her husband's gubernatorial campaign -- to resolve the issue quickly.
Beck said the situation is embarrassing for the mayor, but he doubts that the case will haunt him politically.
U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland of Lisbon also is seeking the Democratic nomination in the gubernatorial race.
"I think it would be hard for an opposing candidate to use this in any way. The electorate would look down on that," Beck said. "This case isn't about Michael Coleman, his integrity or his policies."