State Delegate Is Facing DUI Charge in May Incident

A Maryland state delegate who wanted special "DUI" license plates issued to people convicted more than once of drunken driving has been charged with driving under the influence and is scheduled to be tried next month.

Herman L. Taylor Jr. (D-Montgomery) was cited at 3:30 a.m. May 1, when a Montgomery County police officer found him sleeping behind the wheel of his Cadillac Escalade SUV, parked with its engine idling at a Silver Spring 7-Eleven, according to a police report.

Taylor's attorney, John Kudel, said yesterday that his client had consumed only one drink but had been up for more than 20 hours and was fatigued. "In my judgment, he's absolutely innocent of the charges," Kudel said. "And we'll prove it in court."

Taylor, elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2002, represents eastern and northern parts of Montgomery.

According to the police report, Officer Peter Johnson was in the 7-Eleven lot in the 10200 block of New Hampshire Avenue when he saw the SUV pull up. Johnson eventually approached and saw the driver with his head leaning back, the report says.

The report says Johnson knocked loudly on the window and got no response. He opened the unlocked door and tapped the driver on the shoulder and again got no response, it says. Finally, he "forcefully shook the driver's shoulder and he woke up," the report says.

Taylor turned off the ignition and pulled out the keys, the report says. The officer smelled alcohol and noted that Taylor was confused and disoriented and that his eyes "were very red and watery," according to the report.

Taylor initially agreed to take a field sobriety test, didn't do well and declined to continue, the report says. At a police station, Taylor agreed to take a breath test but gave such a limited sample that he was deemed to have not cooperated, the report says.

Kudel said that his client was trying to cooperate but that Taylor had been at a social function in southern Prince George's County and was tired.

In 2006, Taylor co-sponsored a bill that called for motorists convicted twice of driving under the influence to be issued license plates that read "DUI," followed by a three-digit number. The bill didn't pass.

Taylor is the second Montgomery delegate in recent months to face DUI charges. In July, House Majority Leader Kumar P. Barve (D) pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and received unsupervised probation.

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.