FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Republican state Sen. Brandon Smith, who was arrested on the first day of the 2015 legislative session for driving under the influence of alcohol, was found not guilty of the charges after a daylong trial Friday.
A Franklin County jury of three men and three women took 10 minutes to find the Hazard Republican not guilty. They did convict him of speeding and fined him $40, not including $143 in court costs.
“I totally expect somebody to try to make campaign hay out of this,” said Smith, who is up for re-election in 2016. “Even though you all saw in here today we were proven innocent. I told you all I was innocent.”
Smith was arrested Jan. 6, hours after the state Senate had adjourned its first day of the 2015 legislative session. A state trooper testified Smith smelled of alcohol and that he failed multiple field sobriety tests. A portable breath test showed Smith had a blood alcohol level of .088. A person is presumed to be impaired when the blood to alcohol ratio is .08 and above. But that test is only used to help the officer decide whether to arrest someone and is not admissible as evidence in court. Smith refused to take a blood alcohol test at the police station.
Smith hired two high-profile defense attorneys to defend him: Scott C. Cox, a former federal prosecutor who now practices in Louisville, and Bill Johnson, a longtime criminal defense attorney in Frankfort. The attorneys argued Smith’s car smelled of alcohol because someone had been riding in it earlier who had been drinking. They played security camera footage from the jail, showing the jury Smith could walk easily without assistance even with his hands cuffed behind his back. A convenience store clerk testified Smith did not appear intoxicated earlier that night when he stopped by the store to purchase some energy drinks.
Prosecutor Chris Broaddus told the jury during his closing argument that Smith was not drunk but he was under the influence of alcohol, describing the case as “kind of a close call.” Broaddus told reporters later he was not surprised with the verdict.
“If I didn’t think he was guilty I wouldn’t prosecute him,” Broaddus said, noting that Smith has had his license suspended since Jan. 6 for refusing the breathalyzer test. “Mr. Smith had more license suspension than he would have gotten had he came and just plead guilty.”
Smith told reporters after the verdict he felt “emotional” to have been cleared of the charges, adding that people have threatened him and his family on the Internet in the months since his arrest.
“Being in the public eye, … we’re vulnerable,” Smith told reporters after the verdict. “The cyberbullying thing is real. We’ve had death threats on my family.”
Johnson argued earlier this year that the charges against Smith should be dropped because the state constitution says lawmakers cannot be arrested while the Legislature is in session. He later withdrew that request.
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