Had Tiger Woods been caught asleep behind the wheeljust 15 miles north he would not have the option of a diversion program as a result of his DUI charge.
It was clear in the dash-cam video of Woods' arrest in Jupiter that he was dazed and disoriented. After his arrest, Woods admitted to taking prescribed medicine, but since he's a first-time DUI offender in Palm Beach County and meets the requirements for the county's diversion program, he's not going to be convicted of DUI. ]
His breath test results were .000.
"He would not be afforded this option if he were 15 - 30 miles north at all," said J.D. Lewis IV, a DUI defense attorney at The Lewis Law Group in Stuart.
Just over the northern Palm Beach County border, DUI diversion programs do not exist in the 19th circuit which covers Martin, St. Lucie, Okeechobee and Indian River counties. Lewis says the sanctions for first-time offenders such as in Woods' case would be up to one year probation, license suspension for 6 months to a year, 50 hours community service, DUI school, victim impact panels, drug and alcohol abuse programs, a fine, thousands of dollars in court and attorneys fees, plus the conviction permanently on your record.
"In a sense, he did get lucky. I mean he did get lucky he wasn't up here because he would have to be prosecuted to the fullest just like any other lay person," said Lewis.
Woods is expected to plead guilty to reckless driving but will get to keep his license.
"Now he has the ability to have a withhold of adjudication which now he can always say he's never been convicted of anything and with that withhold of adjudication he’s allowed to get his charge potentially sealed and later down the line expunged," added Lewis.
The diversion program is available in Palm Beach County for DUI offenders who qualify, they had to have had a blood alcohol level of .20 or less.
Woods' diversion program is expected to begin October 25. He will still have to complete certain requirement like DUI school, victim impact panels, 12 months probation which includes a ban on alcohol and drug possession and consumption.