Legislative Leader Pleads Guilty to DUI, Gets Probation, Fine

Maryland House Majority Leader Kumar P. Barve pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol yesterday and received unsupervised probation but no jail time in a plea agreement that allows the matter to be expunged from his record if he stays out of trouble.

In a hearing in Montgomery County District Court, Barve (D-Montgomery) apologized to the community. "I'm here to take responsibility for my actions," he said to the judge, who ordered him to pay a $200 fine and court costs. "I will never do this again. Period."

In Montgomery, first-time DUI offenders, as Barve was, typically do not receive jail time. It also is common for them to receive a sentence of "probation before judgment," meaning the judge effectively retracts the finding of guilt if the defendant completes terms of probation, such as alcohol evaluation and monitoring. Defendants who complete probation also can request that the matter be expunged from their records.

Barve, 49, was first elected in 1990, and he represents Gaithersburg and other parts of Montgomery in the state House of Delegates.

About 11:40 p.m. Nov. 29, a Gaithersburg police officer, Shane Eastman, saw a green Acura drive out of a parking lot entrance on East Diamond Avenue, prosecutor Colleen Swanson said in court yesterday. The officer also saw the car cross a double yellow line before he pulled it over, Swanson said. The officer smelled alcohol and noted that Barve's eyes were bloodshot, Swanson said.

Barve agreed to undergo field sobriety tests. In the "walk and turn" test, he couldn't maintain his balance, started too soon and didn't touch heel to toe, according to Swanson and police arrest records.

Police administered a roadside breath test, and Barve scored 0.10, slightly more than the legal limit, Swanson said. At a police station, Barve declined to take the more official blood-alcohol test, according to arrest records. He was polite and cooperative, but his speech was slurred and his face was flushed, arrest records show.

Barve's case was handled by a prosecutor from Frederick County before a visiting judge from Howard County, but it was part of an otherwise standard docket. Two other men charged with DUI also were sentenced to no jail time and probation before judgment, including one who scored 0.16 on a blood-alcohol test.

Barve's attorney, Luiz R.S. Simmons, told Judge Mary C. Reese that Barve had completed an alcohol awareness program. Simmons spoke of Barve's long hours of community service and described him as devoted to his wife and 83-year-old mother.

"This was an atypical event that night," said Simmons, a Montgomery Democrat who serves with Barve in the state House.

As part of his sentence, Barve must abstain from alcohol use for a year and attend a meeting of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.