Earlier this month basketball star and ESPN analyst Jalen Rose was sentenced to twenty days in jail for a March drunken-driving crash near Detroit. Rose pled guilty and admitted to the judge that he drank six martinis before crashing his SUV on a snowy road late in the evening. Even though several prominent members of the Detroit community came out in support of Rose and despite the fact that the prosecutor did not recommend jail time, the judge sentenced Rose to twenty days in jail.
Rose's attorneys were beside themselves. One of his attorneys commented that the judge was legislating from the bench and cited his client's donations to charity and service to the community, including starting inner city schools. The judge, who has a reputation for coming down hard on drunk drivers lectured Rose stating, "The one thing that people never want...that they will hire expensive lawyers to avoid...is jail time. That's why I believe it is the right punishment." Rose's actual sentence is 92 days in jail and one years probation, but the judge suspended 72 days of the sentence. The maximum penalty for the charge is 93 days, but Rose received credit for the night he spent in jail after the crash.
