In a blog a few months back, I couldn’t help but marvel around the bad timing of Jalen Rose’s DUI arrest. With the “Fab Five” documentary playing almost every day and Rose receiving increased face time with the NBA playoffs approaching, the former U of M star was receiving press for all the wrong reasons. It didn’t help his image beyond that when former Piston Grant Hill took offense to some racially charged comments that were played about Hill and his Blue Devils teammates either. Nonetheless, the arrest finally had its day in court and came with a stiff penalty.
The Free Press recently ran a map of the metro area that showed where the so-called “best” and “worst” places were to get caught for drunk driving. The shading was based on how stiff the penalty would be if you were to get caught for driving intoxicated or under the influence in various districts throughout the area. The one Rose was cited in is notoriously considered to hand out the stiffest penalties for individuals driving drunk, and Judge Kim Small is the reason why.
I know Judge Small back from a number of years back, and I have a great deal of respect for the mission she has taken on behalf of those who have lost loved ones via drunk drivers. It only takes one time behind the wheel drunk to injure or kill someone, and Small understands this. While Rose may have the celebrity status, and it may have been his first time documented as being drunk behind the wheel, Small made sure that he would think twice the next time he drinks.
When Rose comes out of jail, he will arrive back to a world that he is trying to make better through his work in Detroit’s inner city. While he’s battling a different type of battle now than the one he grew up in (where he was merely trying to survive), his ability to use celebrity for the betterment of the community is extremely commendable. Hopefully his time behind bars will only continue to bring out a Jalen Rose that thinks about the community over himself.
May 17, 2012 1:00 PM
I agree with one of Rose’s attorneys that this sentence (20 days in jail) is not proportionate to the offense. His alcohol level was .12, which is just over the level of intoxication. It’s his first offense EVER for anything.
As someone who knows something about the court system and these issues, I don’t believe Rose was treated fairly. He was not treated as a no-name citizen would have been. I have witnessed many first-time offenders who were given probation, mandatory AA, and fines. Jail time is unusualy, and hardly given to a first-time, non-violent offender, whose BA level was so low. Rose is a good citizen, he’s not a criminal who needs to be taught a lesson. The judge was legislating from the bench. Her own probation department disagreed with the sentence.
My wife was almost killed by a drunk driver on I-96 and has the scars to show for it. Let Rose spend a few weeks in the can and learn a valuable lesson. First-time offender? Good, hopefully there won’t be a second time. My hat’s off to the judge.
“Hours after DUI sentence, Jalen Rose ticketed for speeding”
From the Detroit News 7/29:
Less than nine hours after leaving a courthouse where he had been sentenced to 20 days in jail for drunken driving, Rose ran afoul of the law again, authorities said Thursday.
Clawson Police Chief Harry Anderson said Rose, 38, was stopped and ticketed for speeding on Main Street, just north of 14 Mile in Clawson, about 8:47 p.m. Wednesday.
“He was stopped heading south on Main — right in front of the Police Department — at 46 miles an hour in a 25-mile zone,” Anderson said.