A teary-eyed Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager held a press conference at the Risser Justice Center, 120 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Thursday to publicly apologize for what she said was a \terrible mistake.""
Lautenschlager, who was arrested Monday night for drunken driving, announced that she pled guilty to both operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and refusing to take a blood test.
""I will not contest the officer's determination of my refusal to submit to a blood test. ... The bottom line is that I made the wrong choice -and for that I will take full responsibility,"" Lautenschlager said in the press conference.
According to Lautenschlager's lawyer, Steve Meyer, Lautenschlager will have her license suspended for a year and will be unable to apply for an occupational license for 30 days.
Meyer said his client had already paid the $784 fine and would soon undergo an ""alcohol assessment"" program.
According to Nina Emerson, director of the Resource Center of Impaired Driving, those convicted of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated are assessed at the Dane County Intoxicated Driver Assessment Program, where they are evaluated for potential alcoholism and then recommended to an appropriate program.
""We are treating [Lautenschlager] like any other person. In fact, we're treating her much more severely than usual,"" Meyers said.
""Usually, when a person pleads guilty to an OWI, the prosecutor usually drops the refusal as part of the bargain. In this case, Lautenschlager is taking responsibility for both actions and is accepting both punishments,"" Emerson said.
Lautenschlager stressed that her behavior was a reflection of current issues in Wisconsin.
""All too many of us view glibly our responsibilities as drivers and the dangers of drinking and driving. We can not tolerate a continued attitude of this sort,"" she said.
