Opinion ID: 1901900
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Donnelly's Arrest

Text: Respondents' ethical violations arose from the following events: On January 30, 1990, Westfield police officers Andrew Gallagher and David Luce arrested Westfield resident Joseph Donnelly, a New York attorney, who was returning home from dinner in New York. The police stopped Donnelly in front of his house. He was charged with three traffic violations: drunk driving in violation of N.J.S.A. 39:4-50, failure to stay within a single lane in violation of N.J.S.A. 39:4-88(b), and failure to obey a stop sign in violation of N.J.S.A. 39:4-144. Donnelly told the officers that he had consumed a few drinks that evening at dinner. The officers then administered several balance and coordination tests. In his report, Officer Gallagher stated that Donnelly performed those tests poorly. According to Officer Gallagher, Donnelly repeated his poor performance at the police station, where his performance was videotaped. Gallagher, however, was wrong about Donnelly's videotaped performance. Gallagher's supervisor, Detective Lieutenant Bernard Tracy, testified that it was one of the best performances he had ever seen. That Donnelly's videotape standing alone would not have been sufficient to establish that Donnelly was intoxicated is now undisputed. After those tests, Officer Gallagher administered two breathalyzer tests to Donnelly. One test revealed a .16% blood-alcohol level, and the other .15%. Both levels were above the .10% level for intoxication. At the police station Donnelly showed Officer Luce a 200 Club Card and asked whether showing it to the police officers earlier would have made a difference. Officer Luce gave a negative response but Officer Gallagher approached, looked at the card, and indicated that showing it would have made a difference. The 200 Club is an organization of businesspersons and professionals who support law-enforcement and fire services in New Jersey, and provide monetary support to the families of police officers and firefighters injured or killed in the line of duty. Donnelly asked Norton, a close friend, to represent him. Norton agreed to defend him free of charge.