DWI Billboard Advertising
Posted on Aug 2, 2011 1:45pm PDT
I have never been a fan of billboard advertising for drunk driving, but I guess the Bexar County District Attorney's Office can not turn down something that is offered to them for free. Luckily, they are being more selective on who goes on one of the 12 billboards by choosing those that have been charged with Intoxication Assault or Intoxication Manslaugher, while also becoming a fugitive from justice by failing to appear in court for their drunk driving case. Nevertheless, they are obliterating the defendant's presumption of innocent by posting their mug shot on a billboard throughout the county. More importantly, any potential juror that views this person's picture will automatically think that they are guilty of something if the county is going to the trouble of posting their picture on a billboard. This type of public shaming is not any different from when the Montgomery County District Attorney's started posting every DWI arrest on their twitter account. In both instances they are trampeling on the Constitutional right that people are innocent until proven guilty.