Single Glass of Wine Immerses D.C. Driver in Legal Battle

"Why?" Bolton remembers saying. "I passed all your little tests."

On his report, Fair wrote that Bolton failed 10 indicators of sobriety. But James E. Klaunig, a toxicology expert at Indiana University's medical school who for 12 years oversaw the state's drunken driving testing, said that such a determination was scientifically improbable.

"There's no way possible she failed a test from impairment with a .03" blood alcohol level, Klaunig said. "And reciting the alphabet is not an acceptable way of measuring impairment, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration."

Fair, who said he does not comment on individual arrests, noted in his report that Bolton's attitude was "excited," "carefree" and "cocky."

"I was sort of laughing," Bolton said. "I look back and wonder, was I cocky? Did I have an attitude? Well, yeah, because I was sober, so I thought it was all so ridiculous."

Fair handcuffed her. Bolton said she was terrified. Until then, her only brush with the law had been a ticket for speeding in a 15-mph zone in 2002.

At 1:08 a.m., at the 2nd Police District station, Fair asked Bolton to blow into the Intoxilyzer 5000. It read .03.

"See?" she remembers saying.

He had her breathe into the machine one minute later. Again, .03.

"See?"

But Fair told her D.C. law was on his side.

On the department's Web site, D.C. police explain it this way: "Technically, according to the D.C. Code, the District of Columbia has a zero tolerance for driving under the influence. If a person 21 years of age or older has a blood alcohol concentration of .02 percent [to] .04 percent and extremely bad driving, this person can be placed under arrest for Driving Under the Influence of an alcoholic beverage."