San Diego Police say Roman Catholic archbishop-elect of San Francisco arrested for DUI (SAM SPITAL)

“The article published in the Washington Post noted in the early morning hours of August 27, 2012, a San Diego Police Officer arrested the Roman Catholic Archbishop-elect of San Francisco for driving under the influence. If the facts are true, this certainly evinces a lack of good judgment as no one should drive after having any alcohol, whether wine, beer or liquor. It simply is not appropriate given the potential for harm or even death to others as well as the individual in question. Of course, the reader does not know all of the facts and, therefore, should not automatically conclude a DUI crime was committed by the newly appointed Archbishop.

The portion of the article that is troubling is the greater amount of written copy devoted to describing the Archbishop-elect as an ardent supporter of California’s same-sex marriage ban, and his role as Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage. It clearly shows a potential bias of the author of the Post article against others who may oppose same sex marriage, which does not seem relevant to whether a DUI crime occurred, and by whom. When this type of reporting takes place, one becomes suspicious of there being more information that should have been described but likely was omitted from (possibly even deliberately left out of) the article. Further, commonly accepted standards of journalism require a fair and balanced account rather than the writer’s use of the article to pander her own prejudices and/or to produce more justification to criticize others (regardless of religious belief).”

SAM SPITAL, LAWYER
SAN DIEGO DUI DEFENSE COUNSEL