"Daughter Of Supreme Court Justice Charged In DUI"

[orleans]

"By Angela Rozas
Tribune staff reporter
Published February 13, 2007, 7:32 PM CST


"A daughter of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was arrested Monday night in Wheaton and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and child endangerment, Wheaton Deputy Police Chief Thomas Meloni said.

"Ann S. Banaszewski, 45, was stopped about 7:25 p.m. in a 1996 Ford Econoline van near Gamon Road and Longfellow Drive after a citizen reported a possible drunken driver was at the McDonald's restaurant near there, Meloni said.

"Three of Banaszewski's "small children" were in the van with her at the time, leading to the child endangerment charge, Meloni said. He would not disclose their ages. Meloni would also not disclose details of her alleged intoxication, but said she submitted to a field sobriety test, though he could not disclose its outcome.

""Probable cause was established to arrest and charge the driver with DUI," Meloni said. Banaszewski was taken to the Wheaton Police Station, where she was released on her own recognizance, Meloni said. A police officer dropped her children at a family friend's home, a "common practice" when someone is arrested with children, he said."

more at link

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070213scalia,1,1470395.story

[lovuian]

1. oopsie

Scalia where are ya???

[AlCzervik]

2. Must-restrain-myself!!

[LouisianaLiberal]

33. Perhaps Leno can use the equal protection clause

of the fourteenth amendment. And, if she has a "substantial probability of success" then she should get off, right?

But if he can get enough judges to hear her case, maybe they can write a per curiam decision so that no one will be able to say exactly WHICH judge exonerated her.

Really though, a decision against her could "threaten irreparable harm" and "cast a cloud upon what SHE claims to be the legitimacy" of her innocence.

Damn Leno, you used those arguments once, why not tell her defense attorney that they must use them to help your child? Jackass.

[Beetwasher]

3. How Did I Know Before Clicking It Would Be Slimey Scalia's Spawn?

n/t

[AlCzervik]

9. when i saw the subject line i was hoping---

i know thats so wrong.

[aquart]

10. Me, too. It was like a reflex.

[LeftyMom]

17. I was too.

I was actually thinking "please be scalia, please be scalia, please be scalia" as the page opened.

And it was! And she had her kids with her!

If that was my gene pool, I'd drink too.

[AlCzervik]

18. exactly, not cool with the kids in the car, not that dui ever is but i notice

they didn't disclose the outcome of the Field sobriety test. Ok smokkingun.com do your stuff.

[orleans]

34. i just googled her name and town (without middle initial) and

got a phonebook listing with phone number & address. i'm thinking that has to be someone else--would this woman really have a listed phone number & address?

but when you click on the "map" you can see that the address it points to looks like it is about five blocks from that mcdonalds the article mentioned.

[MannyGoldstein]

41. That's Weird - Me Too!

Not sure why...

[SpiralHawk]

74. the republicon "moral majority" goes marching onward. Deviantly. As usual.

what is it with republicon moral corruption. It is so total.

They love to wag their fingers at other people.

Then then get behind closed doors, and whoa Nellie -
deviancy, corruption drug abuse, child abuse, and child endangerment,
to say nothing of the lying and stealing from the American people.

Republicons = absolute corruption

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. If Fat Tony Scalia were my dad, I'd probably drink, too.

But with kids in the car? Not good.

[truthisfreedom]

5. This has nothing to do with Scalia, and would barely be newsworthy if she were not related.

It's silly to have these sorts of articles be part of political news. It's just unfortunate for everyone involved, as well.

[Beetwasher]

6. LOL!

Yer funny.

[AlCzervik]

12. yes you're right. I really wish there was mugshotty goodness with the story.

[melm00se]

51. bingo.

this is a 45 year old person...she makes her own decisions...whether her parent is a SC Justice or bob the pipe fitter really doesn't matter.

[LeighAnn]

67. Not silly when Daddy sentences people to death

Isn't he the one that said that "mere factual innocence" was not a good enough reason to overturn a death sentence that was "properly reached"?

Please, there has to be a stop to this business of one set of laws for them, one set for everyone else. Her father is about the biggest stench of our judicial system ever and has caused immeasurable suffering in the lives of millions and millions of human beings worldwide.

I'm just glad she didn't kill anybody. It is news, though.

[aquart]

7. Yes!

I said a little prayer before opening this post. Scalia's kid!

Smug fascists once again show off their child-rearing skills.

[rodeodance]

8. glad the kids are OK

[Kutjara]

11. I don't know what's more disgusting...

...that she was eating at McDonalds or driving an Econoline. Either one is grounds for a child endangerment charge.

[jkshaw]

15. Funny Kutjara!

My sentiments exactly!

[LeftyMom]

20. Well, if you've got a shit ton of kids

Since her family's ubercatholic, I'm going to assume she does or plans on it, there aren't a lot of options. You get the enormous Dodge van, the enormous GM van or the enormous Ford van. Other than the new Dodge Sprinters, they're all similar in terms of interior comfort features (none to speak of,) ride (horrible,) and safety features (the minimum legally allowed.)

[Kutjara]

36. It must have been one of the great triumphs of the advertising industry...

...when they were able to convince a large slice of American society that sticking a few bench seats into a structurally-weakened delivery van produces a vehicle suitable for the transportation of large groups of children. Why not go the whole hog and stick wooden wheels on a refridgerator box? It would probably be safer.

[LeftyMom]

39. Especially when they didn't bother to put shoulder belts, headrests or

child seat tethers in on most of the back seats.

That said, minivans, unlike their larger cousins, are actually the safest thing on the road and thankfully much more popular.

[susanna]

65. Well, I have no kids so can't be busted for owning...

...an Econoline conversion van. We have large dogs and it works well for us. We use it for lengthy trips, not gadding about town.

As for the van itself, it's actually quite nice and rides beautifully unless you're in a strong crosswind. Never had a problem with it, either, as it is a battle-tested mechanical design.

On topic: that said, I wouldn't cart kids around in it when I was drunk.

on edit: clarity

[tanyev]

13. Another fine Republican off to rehab!

The rehab business is doing well these days.

[Freddie Stubbs]

22. How do we know that SHE is a Republican?

[Benhurst]

26. The bad seed.

[Erika]

14. The GOP have never been friendly to mental health/drug issues

They slash the funding and take a punitive stand.

How sad and short-sighted. Yep, glad the kids are OK.

[Mz Pip]

16. Giggle

Just glad she didn;t take anyone out while she was behind the wheel.

Well, her daddy is a lawyer...

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Olney Blue]

19. She's very likely an alcoholic. Hope she gets treatment.

[PassingFair]

21. He'll have to haul out the hair shirt tonight....

maybe a little self flagellation....

who knows HOW he will atone for his failure as a father!

[Benhurst]

23. In the interest of fairness, I'm reserving all judgement until I have a chance

to see the DVD of "Supreme Court Sluts Gone Wild."

[Erika]

24. Why isn't this showing up on national news?

Just curious.

[orleans]

27. i heard this on a little tv station based in oakbrook, outside of chicago

and i thought: what the hell did i just hear?

so i googled. and couldn't find anything.
went to yahoo news and couldn't find anything.

so i went to cltv website--nothing there either. but it said they were a partner or in conjunction with the chicago tribune. so i went on the chicago tribune's website and put scalia into the search. found it!

and i think the trib just posted it a little over two hours ago. maybe it's too new for national news?

[orleans]

42. it's finally up on google. n/t

[0007]

50. I think we can figure that one out, 'eh?

........now back to Anna Nicole Smith.

[UTUSN]

25. Note to Fat Tony: GET OVER IT!!1 Plus, so a special protected class exists, eh. I did not KNOW that

[UTUSN]

29. P.S. I'm SURE Fat Tony will show SENSITIVITY KINDNESS & CARING--- NOT!!1 n/t

[TexasLawyer]

60. LOL!

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

[DeSwiss]

28. And at end of the article....

"Banaszewski, reached by phone at home, declined to speak about the arrest, or whether she was Scalia's daughter.

"I have no information and I certainly would not speak with a reporter about my father," she said."

I don't blame you honey. If Fat Tony was my dad, I'd tell everyone I was adopted....
:shrug:

[LeftyMom]

35. Hell, I'd tell people I hatched from an egg.

:puke:

[Wiley50]

30. I Hope She Fights It All the Way To The Supreme Court N/T

[orleans]

32. lol!!! n/t

[orleans]

69. jay leno told your joke tonight. he talked about scalia's daughter

getting a dui & then he said: "she should fight it all the way to the supreme court"

i just had to tell you...(smile)

[Wiley50]

72. I should have his job n/t

[Erika]

31. The Republicans are notorious for laws, laws, laws

As long as they don't obey them.

[no_hypocrisy]

37. I hope she doesn't take any legal advice from her father. n/t

[cui bono]

38. If all these power hungry RWingers would spend as much time being good parents

as they do figuring out how to rule the world maybe all their children wouldn't get into so much trouble.

Family values my ass.

:eyes:

[hughee99]

48. So Scalia's daughter got the DUI because

Scalia is a bad parent? I'm not saying Scalia IS a good parent, in fact, it's kind of hard for me to picture him being one, but if you're going to say that someone's DUI is a result of bad parenting you're opening up a can of worms.

[Vidar]

40. Warms my heart.

[lonestarnot]

45. Better than openameal.

[Divernan]

43. Does Opus Dei do family interventions?

So she was drunk at dinnertime on a Monday night? What a Mom!?!? As per the following additional paragraphs from the Trib article, the police refer to previous contacts, and that they KNEW she was Scalia's daughter. Enablers take a lesson. The more you excuse and overlook someone's drunken behavior, the worse that behavior gets. It's apparently gotten to the point that the police dept. has to face the probability that she'll kill someone while driving drunk and then it would come to light that they've been letting her get by with it.

"A court date has not been scheduled, he said. Meloni said police knew Banaszewski was one of Scalia's daughters because of "previous contact with the justice" and "common knowledge" in the Wheaton Police Department.

Meloni said he has never spoken to Scalia directly, but the department's police officers routinely patrol Banaszewski's neighborhood to ensure her safety, a courtesy the department extends for others associated with law enforcement, the court system or anyone who requests extra patrols."

[Odin2005]

44. Why did I know it HAD to be Scalia's spawn? n/t

[semillama]

46. On schadenfreude:

"Schadenfreude is chocolate for the soul. That's why ours are full of cavities."
-Davan McIntyre, something*positive
http://somethingpositive.net/

[Swede]

47. What poor judgement. skills. nt

[Joanne98]

49. Send her to prison.

[karynnj]

52. Not fair

I dislike Scalia and all he stands for, but this is not his fault. If the son or daughter of a Democratic leader were stopped for a DUI would we hold it against them.

[noamnety]

54. Scalia would want this discussed publicly

He's been very clear that the right to privacy, especially for women, does not exist.

[MountainLaurel]

59. No shit

:applause:

[fujiyama]

68. You got it

Fuck him...and fuck his drunk, reckless, irresponsible daughter as well.

[mikelgb]

53. I see that good judgement runs in the family

drip drip

[derby378]

55. Just sent it to Keith Olbermann at COUNTDOWN, along with...

...a recommendation to use the song Ford Econoline by Nanci Griffith. This should headline the Top 3 Newsmakers tonight.

You're welcome. :hi:

[orleans]

62. (a belated thank you) n/t

[knight_of_the_star]

71. Nicely done

He's going to have fun with that.

[gauguin57]

56. Gosh, I hate to be the party pooper, but Al Gore's son has been arrested, too

Obviously, it can happen to any parent. I hate Scalia -- and yes, I'd probably drink, too, if he were my dad.

BUT: Al Gore III was arrested for reckless driving once, for DUI once, for pot possession (while driving) once.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/12/20/gore.son/

Also, Howard Dean's son was charged with burglary for trying to steal liquor from a country club.

Irresponsible behavior by pols' kids transcends party lines.

[hughee99]

57. Ted Kennedy's son (Patrick) too. n/t

[superconnected]

61. Honestly, Al Gore is so boring, I'm glad to hear it

I voted for him, but man he was boring.

I voted for kerry too. I couldn't believe the dems found a monotone to top Gores image.

[cyr330]

64. Oh I agree

Transgressions cross party lines. I don't think this is about the daughter at all; it's ALL about her dad and some of the shady decisions he's made in the past that were blatant conflicts of interest. The interest here? Given what that fucker is capable of doing, will he manage to get her off scott free?

[Contrite]

66. Difference is

These pols don't hold themselves up as the big "family values" icons and consort with the fundies for votes

[BigDDem]

58. That's what ya get...

hanging out with Jenna.

[cyr330]

63. Oh she and the rest of them are above the law. . .

As her father has so often pointed out to the rest of us peons.

[knight_of_the_star]

70. Not saying anything

Going off on this would be like beating a man who's down with a baseball bat in the crotch.

[Radio_Lady]

73. I'd be driven to drink if Scalia was my father....

The PBS program on the evolution of the Supreme Court makes sure we understand who this guy really is. Fascinating program I watched last week... see it if you can.