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Internal experiences and depressing guilt against family, friends, acquaintances, the community of judges. This is how the renowned judge A. Daugėla, whose powers were suspended following the incident on the road this week, felt.
After the weekend, the 57-year-old civil servant often moved from Klaipėda, which had been his place of work and residence for many years, to Vilnius, where he worked at the Supreme Court and rented accommodation.
That rhythm of life has become commonplace. The high official was used to many trips. But on June 1, the trip was fateful, shaking life from scratch.
The successful career that A. Daugėla began in the police force and continued in court came to a sudden halt and he found himself in the unknown.
On June 2, President Gitanas Nausėda signed a decree addressing the Council of Judges for advice on how to advise the Seimas to remove an intoxicated judge.
A. Daugėla, who started working as an interrogator at the Klaipėda Police Chief Commissariat 32 years ago, subsequently headed the Criminal Cases Division of the Klaipėda Regional Court and became the president of this court.
Eventually, the judge, who had an impeccable reputation, rose to one of the highest levels of his career, being appointed to the Supreme Court.
The incident was filled with versions
The disappointing news of A. Daugėla’s suspension on the road and the result of the sobriety check surprised his family, friends, colleagues and the public.
Some were quick to condemn others for misbehaving, endangering other road users.
The people who knew A. Daugėlis best were not quick to judge him; they considered what might have happened if he had slipped.
The incident grew in several versions, even rumors that the judge could be monitored. Because this has already happened to many high officials.
So what really happened that day in the life of the judge and on the road?
The Lietuvos Rytas journalist, looking for an answer, managed to look behind the scenes at the scandalous incident and speak with A. Daugėla.
He reported what caused the suspicion.
Judge A. Daugėla, who was sitting behind the wheel of his Mercedes-Benz car, sitting in his car that day, apparently did not adequately assess his condition.
He only blames himself for this and does not look back. Or maybe it would be worth it?
“I do not want to believe that someone I know has denounced,” said the interlocutor.
Vilma Juozevičiūtė, representative of the General Assistance Center, informed Lietuvos Rytas that a report on the suspicious car was received at 4 pm and 25 minutes.
The caller explained that he was driving on the road to Vilnius, near Fort Kaunas IX.
He saw a car that allegedly caused suspicion: the driver was drunk or his health was deteriorating.
The car was said to meander at some point and, along with the turn signal, the windshield wipers were activated.
The driver, who shared his suspicions, was driving A. Daugėla’s car in front of him.
I could not control
Police officers who arrived within minutes stopped the car driven by A. Daugėla on the road.
During his field sobriety test, the breathalyzer showed 1.82 per thousand of alcohol.
This was another blow to fate for A. Daugėla.
The first judge was due to recently confirmed health problems.
“In no way do I want to cover up my health problems, but I will be open and admit: after experiencing a lot of stress, I could not properly control myself and find more suitable ways and means to overcome it,” he said. A. Daugėla.
Survived a stressful situation
– Do you often go to Klaipeda and come back? – I asked A. Daugėla.
– For two years, I come home to Klaipeda almost every weekend.
In the last two years, I have driven about 70,000 kilometers.
I had never stopped on the road until earlier this week, there were not the slightest incidents on long car trips.
But in life, sometimes there are situations when a fracture occurs.
– What happened in your life before they stopped you on the road?
– It was a stressful situation for several days due to all the health problems and circumstances already mentioned.
– Did you go to Vilnius alone? Why are you sitting drunk at the wheel?
– I drove alone. It really wasn’t like I was drinking alcohol and sitting in the car.
I did not drink alcohol the day I was driving. I felt completely sober.
So I surprised myself when I saw how much the breathalyzer showed.
The police drew up a protocol. I ordered another blood test.
Usually the person has to take care of himself.
But they stopped me on the road, already on the outskirts of Kaunas, it was difficult to take care of him.
Finally, the officials agreed to go with them to the hospital, where they bled me. I still don’t know what the results of the study are.
The hospital inspection report indicates that the smell of alcohol in the exhaled air is not odorous.
No other signs of intoxication were reported.
– Where did the police stop you?
– They stopped after passing Kaunas, at the turnoff to Grabučiškės. I didn’t immediately notice the officers, they were driving behind me without turning on the beacons or the sound.
I noticed that the car indicated a right turn.
At first I didn’t realize that this was how they were holding me.
He admits he made a mistake
– When did you drink alcohol?
– Travel on the eve. On June 1, I left Klaipeda not in the morning, but in the second half of the day.
I didn’t stop anywhere on the trail and didn’t interact with anyone.
I felt good, I was driving normally. Surprisingly, someone turned out different.
The police officers told me that someone had reported suspicious driving.
– Maybe there was an incident on the road earlier?
– When driving near Kaunas, due to road repairs, it was necessary to cross into another lane of traffic in the opposite direction.
Maybe someone in that place turned out to be maneuvering strangely? But I know very well what a dangerous maneuver is and I don’t. And then I didn’t put anyone in danger.
– Still, do you admit you’re wrong?
– The fact that I drove while intoxicated is not justified.
Yes, I made a mistake leaving Klaipeda without being convinced that I might still be a bit intoxicated.
Maybe you needed to check it out? I don’t have a breathalyzer, I don’t have a harmful habit, so I never needed it.
My heart hurts
– Did you go to work that day, maybe a court hearing was scheduled?
– At the end of that day, I had planned to return to Vilnius to go to work.
It was scheduled to be announced the next day.
I wanted to check them again, read the mail I received.
– How did co-workers and others react to your mistake?
– I couldn’t speak for everyone. But it is reassuring that many people have expressed their support through messages, calls, or simply verbally.
Knowing me, they said they couldn’t believe my willful misconduct.
My credentials have been suspended. My heart aches that after many years, I believe that, after diligent, honest and hard work, the state and society may have to leave you with the record that I have humiliated the name of a judge.
All those years I worked with devotion, the results were good, and it was no accident that I too was appointed to the Supreme Court.
It was a big thank you to me. For lawyers, this is one of the peaks of their careers.
But in no way do I justify myself. I understand that an event such as drunk driving is strictly dealt with in society.
But the situations are not the same either, so decisions on violations must be not only strict but also fair.
An unfortunate event and its possible consequences, however painful, is not the end of life.
As if not all diseases were fatal.
Therefore, I would like to wish others to be responsible, respectful, respectful and to love each other. And, of course, healthy.
I sincerely apologize to the family I have hurt the most, I apologize to the judges I have offended for my actions.
I feel bad and I have no excuse.
– You mentioned before that if he hadn’t become a judge, he would probably be a furniture restorer. If you have to leave a judge’s office, maybe you will? Have you thought about the future?
– In fact, I once spoke about it in response to a question. Now it could be a leisure hobby.
I have some more unrestored furniture. You can talk about wood and furniture, I would love that job.
Now it is difficult to say anything about other more specific future plans.
Issues related to my current situation must be addressed first. Future planning will also depend on this.
Feeling after drinking can be misleading
Tomas Vilius Kajokas, toxicologist, psychotherapist:
“The rate of decomposition of alcohol in the human body is linear to a certain extent: it decomposes at approximately a constant rate and its decrease in the blood can be represented by a straight line. That rate is somewhat individual, but almost the same for Europeans.
In one hour, the European body can break down between 10 and 15 ml of alcohol. During this time, 0.1-0.15 per thousand of alcohol is removed. The greater the body weight, the slower the concentration decreases.
Large people sober more slowly than slim people and stay charged longer.
The genetics of some ethnic groups cause their bodies to break down alcohol more slowly. For example, Indians, Japanese.
The lower a person’s weight, the faster and lower doses will be taken.
There are also several caveats, such as that the breakdown of alcohol can be sped up or slowed down by the medications that are taken.
The functional ability of the brain to recover is much faster than the breakdown of alcohol in the body. Formally, a person may feel sober, but there may be much more alcohol in the blood than the law allows while driving. If a person has had little to drink, they may have nothing left after a few hours.
For example, if a person has had a glass of wine, they will be able to drive in about 3-4 hours. But if you drink a lot and don’t have a breathalyzer to test your sobriety the next day, I would advise you not to sit behind the wheel for 24 hours. “
Read the full article in the Saturday edition of the Lietuvos Rytas newspaper.
