Kennedy's day in court

Grab a pen and write down the date. A Kennedy actually admitted responsibility for something!

From The Washington Post:

Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.) , who entered a drug treatment program last month after losing control of his car near the Capitol, pleaded guilty today to driving under the influence of prescription medication in exchange for having two other charges against him dropped as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

Reckless driving and driving without a permit charges were waived in connection with the 3 a.m. May 4 crash in the 100 block of C Street SE as part of the deal.

[Snip]

Magistrate Judge Aida L. Melendez sentenced Kennedy to 10 days in jail, but suspended the sentence provided he meets a host of conditions to keep his drug problem in check. He must meet monthly with a doctor at Bethesda Naval Hospital, attend a weekly drug recovery program, attend weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and have weekly contacts with an AA sponsor, submit to random drug screenings, and have regular contact with a psychiatrist who will monitor his mood, use of psychotropic prescription medications, and other issues.

The judge said he must also do 50 hours of community service with the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington and make a $250 donation to the organization. In addition, she ordered him to pay $100 to a court fund for victims of crime.

She also put him on probation for a year and imposed, and then suspended, a $300 fine.

This is light considering that he has at least one prior conviction.

Also the community service should be something more difficult and degrading. Like scrubbing bird droppings off the benches in a city park in the August heat or picking up litter on the side of the road as part of a work crew. In other words he should be treated like other DUI offenders.