Here’s why a Manatee County commissioner didn’t appear in court for DUI charge
Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse is pleading not guilty to a DUI charge and did not appear in court Tuesday for an arraignment hearing.
Attorneys appearing on someone’s behalf is common in DUI proceedings, but most people are arrested at the scene. In previous interviews with the Bradenton Herald, local DUI attorneys said they believed Kruse may have received special treatment.
Kruse crashed his Ford pickup truck into a tree on April 20 just inside his subdivision but was not given a sobriety test or arrested at the scene even though deputies referred to him being intoxicated in body camera footage.
Instead, the case, which garnered intense public scrutiny, was investigated further and a capias request recommending charges was sent to the State Attorney’s Office.
Sixty-four days after that crash, Kruse was charged with DUI in a direct formal filing of charges by the state. Kruse was sent a summons, and because it was successfully served, a warrant for his arrest was not legally required.
Few DUI cases are sent to the state to make a filing decision, however. Kruse received favorable discretion when he was not arrested by law enforcement and his case was instead given to prosecutors to decide.
If the case does not go to trial and Kruse is offered and accepts entering into a pre-trial diversion program, he may never set foot in a courtroom — also not uncommon.
The State has one such established program for first time, non-aggravated DUI offenders called Driver Enhanced Treatment Education Rehabilitation, or DETER.
Last week, his defense attorney Jeff Haines filed a plea of not guilty and waived all of Kruse’s appearances at pre-trial hearings — all of which are standard procedure.
Neither Kruse nor his attorney were at his scheduled arraignment on Tuesday — a common practice. In Florida criminal court, an arraignment hearing is where a defendant will learn what formal charges prosecutors have filed.
Appearance is not necessary and rarely does a judge accept a plea of guilty or no-contest at this stage.
Judge recuses
The presiding judge in Kruse’s case, Manatee County Judge Jacqueline B. Steele, recused herself from the case last week. Florida laws do not require judges to provide an explanation when recusing themselves.
Chief Judge Charles Roberts has yet to reassign the case. Until the case is reassigned to a different judge, it’s unclear when the case against Kruse will proceed.
The arraignment appeared on Manatee County Heather Doyle’s docket — who was presiding over all arraignments Tuesday. Judges in the Twelve Judicial Circuit rotate coverage on a weekly basis of certain duties, such as presiding over first appearances, arraignments and after-hours warrants.
Herald reporter Ryan Callihan contributed to this report.
This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 5:50 AM.
CORRECTION: Kruse could not have been arrested once his DUI case was given to the State Attorney’s Office to make a decision on whether to file charges. An earlier version of this story contained incorrect information.
