Princess Theodora charged with DUI

[Maria]

Princess Charged With DUI Awaits Trial

Princesses aren’t known for their public antics, but this one is surely making an infamous name for herself.

Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, 27, has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol while tearing through Monterey County in September. She was nailed by police in Salinas and found to have a blood-alcohol level of .07 -  just under the legal limit -  but drivers can still be charged with impairment at the officer’s discretion.

The haughty princess showed up for her arraignment in September with a checkbook, thinking that she was just going to pay a ticket and leave. Once she had the “criminal” bombshell dropped on her, she hired a lawyer. Her attorney pleaded not guilty for her and says she is confused about the legal part of the proceedings.

Her pretrial hearing will take place on December 18.

Interestingly enough, the princess was named by the Academy of Couture Arts as “an exemplary role model for the youth of the world.”

http://montereycitynews.c...ith-dui-awaits-trial.html

Princess fined for excess speeding

Her Royal Highness Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark appeared in Monterey County Court on Wednesday, pleading no contest to counts of driving a motor vehicle in excess of 100 mph and following too closely.

The 27-year-old princess was arrested Sept. 17 by the California Highway Patrol for driving through Monterey County at excessive speed. An original charge that she was driving under the influence of alcohol was dropped.

The princess was fined $1,000, plus court fees, for her offenses.

Theodora is the fourth child of Greece's deposed King Constantine II and Danish princess Anne-Marie.

http://www.montereyherald...ce=rss&nclick_check=1

She is a graduate of Brown and Northeastern universities, lives in Los Angeles and reportedly is pursuing an acting career. Queen Elizabeth is her godmother.

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So she was both speeding and had been drinking? Very, very disappointing

[Bystander]

Thanks for the article Maria. Driving over 100 on that highway is crazy dangerous.  She could have seriously hurt herself or someone else.  But, they shouldn't have charged her in the first place for driving under the influence, so I can understand why she thought she would just have to pay a fine. She may have ticked off the officer when she was stopped. I wonder if she said or did anything else in the courtroom besides bring her checkbook which caused the reporter to think she was "haughty".

[Maria]

I'm sorry that I made a thread since I see that it has already been posted Anyway - I think both speeding and DUI's are pretty much unforgivable so I think she deserves to get a thread of shame

[Ugly Betty]

Thanks for the article Maria. Driving over 100 on that highway is crazy dangerous.  She could have seriously hurt herself or someone else.  But, they shouldn't have charged her in the first place for driving under the influence, so I can understand why she thought she would just have to pay a fine. She may have ticked off the officer when she was stopped. I wonder if she said or did anything else in the courtroom besides bring her checkbook which caused the reporter to think she was "haughty".

Driving over 100 on any highway is dangerous.  Why do you think they shouldn't have charged a .07 blood alcohol level with D.U.I.? 

[Snow Queen]

She was under the legal limit and that's not a DUI. It exhibits poor judgement but unfortunately that isn't illegal.

[Ugly Betty]

She was under the legal limit and that's not a DUI. It exhibits poor judgement but unfortunately that isn't illegal.

Any impairment while driving that can be attributed to alcohol intake (driving 100 m.p.h.!) can be charged as a D.U.I even if the b.a.l is under the legal limit.  People get pulled over and charged with D.U.I.s all the time with far lower blood alcohol levels.  

[Luc PS du Vin]

She was under the legal limit and that's not a DUI. It exhibits poor judgement but unfortunately that isn't illegal.

Any impairment while driving that can be attributed to alcohol intake can be charged as a D.U.I even if the b.a.l is under the legal limit.  People get pulled over and charged with D.U.I.s all the time with far lower blood alcohol levels.  

That's true. The DUI charge was then dropped, perhaps after the subtle intervention of a foreign consulate. Typically, anybody acting "haughty" when showing up in court for a DUI ticket is going to get the book thrown at them. What happens before a California DMV court session is this.  The judge usually gathers up all the  licenses of the people whose cases he's going to hear beforehand, and incredible as it may seem, he often develops opinions about a case based solely on the appearance of the offender's license photo, home address, etc. I'll bet the judge understood the true meaning of the name on the license, "HRH Princess Theodora", (first, middle, last) even if the officer who pulled her over and gave her the ticket just thought she had a funny name. Her attorney would have given the judge a nudge and a wink as well. If this was a first offense, it would be easy for the judge to let her off with a fine.

[Snow Queen]

She was under the legal limit and that's not a DUI. It exhibits poor judgement but unfortunately that isn't illegal.

Any impairment while driving that can be attributed to alcohol intake (driving 100 m.p.h.!) can be charged as a D.U.I even if the b.a.l is under the legal limit.  People get pulled over and charged with D.U.I.s all the time with far lower blood alcohol levels.  

I see your point and assumed that it would be more of a reckless driving charge then a DUI. Fortunately, I don't have much experience in this area as my only traffic violation has been failure to come to a complete stop at a stop sign. 

[pixiecat]

I'm sorry but she's an idiot.  Firstly, I am very familiar with that freeway where she was speeding.  It is a very dangerous road (up and down steep hills and grades, winding turns, etc).  Even if she wasn't drunk, she's still an idiot for driving at that speed on a road like that.  I'm glad they caught her and I do hope she got some sort of punishment (because if this was you or me, we would have been taken to jail).

[Nattie Lite]

I'm sorry but she's an idiot.  Firstly, I am very familiar with that freeway where she was speeding.  It is a very dangerous road (up and down steep hills and grades, winding turns, etc).  Even if she wasn't drunk, she's still an idiot for driving at that speed on a road like that.  I'm glad they caught her and I do hope she got some sort of punishment (because if this was you or me, we would have been taken to jail).

It really is.  I'm a notorious fast driver, but I was actually drove under the speed limit when I was in Monterrey last September, because that highway is difficult to drive.  I can't even imagine doing it while speeding and/or impaired.  She is an idiot.  And sadly for her, no one here is going to be impressed that she's a princess.

[RoyalPirate]

Ya. She is an idiot. Period. It's in the genes.

[Ugly Betty]

She was under the legal limit and that's not a DUI. It exhibits poor judgement but unfortunately that isn't illegal.

Any impairment while driving that can be attributed to alcohol intake (driving 100 m.p.h.!) can be charged as a D.U.I even if the b.a.l is under the legal limit.  People get pulled over and charged with D.U.I.s all the time with far lower blood alcohol levels.  

I see your point and assumed that it would be more of a reckless driving charge then a DUI. Fortunately, I don't have much experience in this area as my only traffic violation has been failure to come to a complete stop at a stop sign.  

I don't have any firsthand knowledge of this law since, as a New Yorker, I don't drive at all but my b-i-l is a police officer and he has educated his kids for years about the laws pertaining to drinking and driving.  If Theodora wasn't drinking, she may have gotten a reckless driving charge.  If she met or exceeded the legal limit, she would have gotten a D.W.I. (driving while intoxicated) and that comes with much harsher penalties - including a prison sentence in many cases.

[pixiecat]

IIRC, 100 mph is considered reckless driving in CA.  I'm sure that her speed coupled with the amount of booze in her system added up to a DUI and reckless driving.  It sounds like the attorney was able to get them to drop the DUI charges though (unfortunately IMO).  She's not too smart IMO.  I highly doubt that they allow people who are suspected of a DUI to just show up and write a check in England.  Maybe the officer screwed up and didn't issue the test in the right way (this could be why they dropped the charges), but still-she should have known that she would be discussing DUI charges when she showed up to the courthouse. 

And wouldn't they have taken her to jail once they stopped her?  Something isn't adding up here.

[mrplowfan]

It definitely said she was arrested. I'd love to see that booking photo. I posted a link to the court record over in the general thread (http://royaldish.com/index.php/topic,6690.60.html). Check out that portion of the info, too.

I'm guessing her arraignment was the morning after she was arrested (or the next business day after).  In the United States, .07 is illegal in many states. In California, it's .08. She blew or tested right under the limit.

I don't know about CA but in TX you don't have the right of refusal for the test. If you refuse to blow, they take you to the hospital or jail for a blood test. It's an automatic arrest.

In CA, if you are over .05 you can be (and are supposed to be) charged with being under the influence (DUI). Notice it's not driving while intoxicated (DWI). It means that you are not safe to be driving because you are impaired, not necessarily drunk. It's a slight difference.

Here's the CA law http://www.avvo.com/legal...g--dwi--how-in-california

I have to point out that the sugars are saying that everyone does it...does not make it right. She was legally impaired and driving way, way too fast. People are killed every day by drivers like her.  I'll say it again, it doesn't make it right. If everyone jumped off the bridge.... Paris Hilton got busted (so have many, many other celebs) and so should have been Theodora.

Driving too fast is a family trait, apparently. Joachim wrecked his car and almost killed Fred driving too fast. Fred was known for getting tickets (his nickname in the press was 'Turbo' for a while) and so was Ingrid. Trine talked about it in her book a bit.

There was absolutely no reason for her to be doing over 100 at night after drinking, period. It's obvious her judgement was off and she was under the influence of something to be so careless. The officer agreed because the court didn't quickly give up the charge. There were several meetings with the DA before her last court date (see the court record mentioned above).

I have to wonder if she learned anything from this getting the slap on the wrist. I certainly hope so for the sake of the others on the freeway.

[michelle j]

Buzzed driving is considered drunk driving in my lovely state of California... especially here in Los Angeles.  Cops are vigilant especially in here in the South Bay (i.e. Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, and Torrance, CA.)  If they pull you over for whatever reason (DWB, DWA, DWBAHW), and smell alcohol on your breath they will cite you or worse haul your ass to jail.  Gotta love Torrance PD.