Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 5, 1994 TAG: 9402050204
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Prosecutors questioned the judge's decision, and an anti-drunken driving group called it a "blatant miscarriage of justice."
But it may have just been the latest quirk from the bench of Judge Robert T.S. Colby, a retired Alexandria judge appointed to hear the case.
Alexandria lawyers and prosecutors say Colby is well-known for unorthodox ways of handling cases that sometimes generate controversy - as in the case of Charles R. Cranwell II.
After ruling that he had heard enough evidence to convict Cranwell, 29, of drunken driving, Colby on Tuesday delayed a final decision indefinitely.
Because he was convicted of drunken driving in 1989, Cranwell - son of House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County - would have faced a mandatory sentence of at least two days in jail for a second conviction.
Instead, Colby ordered him to attend alcohol counseling classes four times a week and to report to Colby regularly on his medical condition.
Roanoke prosecutors said the almost unheard-of disposition may create the impression of preferential treatment. But lawyers familiar with Colby say they have learned to expect the unexpected in his courtroom.
"He was always open to a nonstandard disposition of a case," said Steve Milani, an assistant public defender in Roanoke who formerly practiced in Alexandria.
While Colby did not handle every repeat DUI case the way he did Cranwell's, lawyers said he would not hesitate to depart from standard procedure if he felt the circumstances justified it.
"He did have a reputation in Alexandria for trying to solve problems with whatever method he could," said Randy Sengel, deputy assistant commonwealth's attorney for Alexandria.
For example:
In what he called the "Colby Plan," Colby would offer a special deal to first-time drug offenders. He would reduce a felony charge to a misdemeanor of possessing drug paraphernalia and place defendants on strict probation that included regular drug testing - in effect maintaining control over cases that usually went on to Circuit Court.
When someone appeared in his court on a shoplifting charge, Colby might revoke their bond and send them to jail before hearing any evidence. Several hours later, after the defendant had a taste of what jail was like, he would dismiss the charge.
Bypassing more traditional community-service programs, Colby would occasionally order defendants outdoors to pick up litter around the courthouse as their sentence.
Colby's maverick style sometimes sparked complaints, but those familiar with his methods said he often succeeded in handing out both punishment and help.
"On balance, I'd give him high marks," said Sengel, who has been a prosecutor in Alexandria for 15 years.
But some say there was less latitude for discretion in Cranwell's case, with state law mandating a minimum sentence of two days in jail for a second DUI conviction within five years.
"Judge Colby may have his own way of doing things, but I would expect the court to follow the law," Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell said.
Following Tuesday's hearing, Caldwell's office sent a letter to Colby asking him to schedule a sentencing date in the case.
Colby had continued the case indefinitely - for perhaps as long as a year - but said he could return earlier. And he warned Cranwell that any violations of the strict conditions would quickly land him in jail.
Still, a representative from People Against Impaired Drivers, which monitored the case, called Colby's decision a "blatant miscarriage of justice."
Tom Blaylock, a Roanoke attorney who represented Cranwell, argued that the charge could easily have been dismissed on evidence that even prosecutors acknowledged was less than overwhelming.
After being pulled over the night of May 13 on his way home from a nightclub, Cranwell told police he had consumed three beers but did not believe he was impaired.
He refused to take a blood-alcohol test - an offense to which he pleaded guilty, resulting in his license being suspended for six months. The arresting officer said Cranwell failed some field sobriety tests but was able to perform others.
Had it not been a high-profile case, Blaylock said, a judge could have easily dismissed the charge and never been questioned.
And even though Cranwell did not go to jail, Blaylock said, "in my opinion, he didn't get off easy."
"The easy thing would be for him to have gone in there and pleaded guilty, sat in jail for two nights and then gotten a restricted license."
"I think the judge is trying to fashion a punishment and at the same time help [Cranwell], and for that I don't think he should be catching a lot of flak."
by CNB