NY judge charged with drunken driving

HARRISON, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say a suburban New York town judge drove drunk, hit another car and then tried to persuade police to let him go because he was a jurist.

Harrison Town Justice Marc Lust was arrested on driving while intoxicated and other charges Dec. 19. Police said his car rear-ended another in Manhattan.

Prosecutors told a court that Lust told police he was a judge and would "take care of this." Police said he was unsteady, slurred words and told them he'd had three drinks at a Christmas party.

Lust's lawyer, Andrew Quinn, says prosecutors inaccurately characterized Lust as trying to trade on his judgeship.

Lust is one of Harrison's two part-time justices. He's been on the bench since 1999 and was re-elected on the Republican and Democratic lines in 2011.