OAKLAND, CA – A man maintained he was “human” and culpable of forgetting things in Alameda County Superior Court last week to Judge James Cramer during his hearing for allegedly violating probation by missing at least two sobriety tests, although the violations occurred just before his completion of a lengthy, court-ordered sober-driving program.
Convicted of felony driving under the influence, the accused is now facing five counts of violating probation and the DUI, for which he was ordered to complete an 18-month sober driving program.
During the court proceedings, Deputy Public Defender Aundrea Brown stated the accused has been “steadily employed” and in regular communication with his probation supervisor during the time of mistakenly missing a couple of breathalyzer tests.
The accused spoke to Judge Cramer directly, claiming, “I am human” and that he forgot the tracking device in the car a couple of times. The accused asserted after he missed 
the alerts, he was given a call and asked why he didn’t blow into the tracker, and he explained the circumstances.
Judge Cramer noted the device is a type of “Interlock Device” provided by pretrial service that alerts the driver when it requires a breath sample, and that it is a violation if you do not “blow into it” when alerted.
In response to the judge’s brief questioning of the accused, the accused became frustrated and argued how he already has an ankle monitor for the conviction from Santa Clara County, which the judge was unaware of until this point.
The accused also makes it known that the last breath test he completed was just “two days ago” and he passed it.
DPD Brown said, despite these minor violations, the accused has remained sober throughout his probation, citing that all the tests he did take on time were negative and he was due to graduate from the sobriety program on Nov. 30.
Brown added the accused has not shown signs of being deceptive about his ongoing sobriety following his past convictions, and has shown commitment to his court-ordered probationary requirements besides the two accidents of leaving his device behind in the car.
Judge Cramer deferred the matter to Nov. 30.
